Generation Lost
by Sunshine Temple
Summary: Here's chapter 11. Princess Ranma Rose gets back on her feet and starts her plans... and then falls right back into the dirt. Read the Ranma in a Fuku story that is not a Sailor Moon cross or fusion.
1. Sins of the Father \ Lock Ridge

Generation Lost

A R.5 alt by Josh Temple

Note: in terms of the manga this starts before volume 22 when Ranma has never seen his mother, but because it is and alt fic events past events will not follow the cannon precisely.

You know the drill. I don't own Ranma.  Its characters and settings is property of Rumiko Takahashi.

To clear up some of the confusions to those who have not read this story, before Ranma's not mine, neither are the various cameos, template ideas, or character references.  However the concepts for Clash, templates, imprinting and such are mine; although, I'm sure someone else had used a similar concept.

 There is a supplemental list of movie/TV/book references, for all the chapters.

 For those of you reading this for the first time, you'll have to read on to figure out what that meant.

"And so it begins."

                 Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

***************

Prolog - Sins of the Father 

"There is a hole in your mind." Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro

                Ukyou was bored.  She had been open for about ten minutes and had yet to get a single customer.  That was strange in and of itself, because for some reason Tuesdays were one of her busier days.  It had been three weeks since Genma had died.  Supposedly, the two Saotomes were on a training trip and Genma had a stroke. Ranma was forced to drag his father's corpse out of the woods.

                After the funeral, Ranma ran off.  No one knew where he was, but it was rumored that he had been seen talking with Cologne several times.  People assumed that he had gone off to finish the training trip, or that he was grieving in private.  Ranma seemed to be in severe shock.   Hibiki had his own private theory: Ranma killed his father and ran off to evade capture, but the coroner had proved that it was a stroke.

                The front door opened.  "Hi welcome to Uc-" Her greeting cut off when she realized who was at the door.

                "Hey, I've got to talk to you." Ranma said, standing in the doorway.

                Ukyou was taken back not only was Ranma carrying a large backpack, but he also had spoken in English.  Nearly perfect English from a person who had slept during all his classes.  "Sure," Ukyou responded in the same language. "Just turn the sign to 'closed' on your way in."

                Ranma sat down on a stool in the front and put his pack down next to him. 

                "Why are you speaking English?" Ukyou asked.

                "Cologne suggested that I practice," Ranma said, turning around. He was relieved to see that Ukyou had yet to open the blinds.

                "What?"

                "I'll start from the beginning.  You know most of the story.  It was on one of Pop's moronic trips. We were sparing and he fell to the ground gasped for a bit, and then went still.  What I didn't say was that while I was doing CPR (it was the only thing I could think of) it started to rain.  I didn't change."

                "But I saw your curse activate after you got back," Ukyou interrupted.

                "I know. Give me a glass of water," Ranma requested, still speaking in English.  He then poured it on his hand.  Nothing happened.  "The curse is unstable.  Sometimes water works, sometimes the opposite temperature works, or sometimes I can change at will."

                "So you went to Cologne to figure out what happened, and she taught you English?" Ukyou asked confused.

                "No, I requested that." Ranma continued, "After I brought Pop back, this lawyer contacted me about my mother."

                Ukyou interrupted again, "So you're going to live with her."

                Ranma's face darkened, "No, she's dead."

                "I'm sorry."

                "It was Pop's fault – as usual. Immediately after I was born, he filed for a divorce.  Apparently my mom didn't approve of Pop's plans, like a ten year training trip or the neko-ken.  He somehow got custody.  The attorney didn't go into detail about it, but it seems that Mom had a very questionable history.  It was all in her past, but he dug it up.  She was forbidden to see me, and was forced to flee the country in shame.  As long as Pop lived, she couldn't contact me in any way, shape, or form."

                Ukyou would have been in shock, but considering Genma's plans, the neko-ken, the ten year training trip, the multiple fiancées and Jusenkyou, what Genma did was by no means out of character. "Then why are you learning English, and what about your curse?"

                Ranma continued, barely maintaining his composure, "She moved to America, got married, and had a daughter, my sister.  Then two years ago she died in a car accident.  As for my curse, Cologne says it's a mixture of stress and skill.  A focused mind can control it. . . like Cologne does.  I never knew she was cursed.  But a stressed one can mess it up.  I'm both. Cologne says that if I got away from Nerima, I should be able to gain full control."

                "Is that why you were gone?  And why is she helping you?"

                "Cologne was trying to get on my good side.  They're all more fanatical about getting me, except you."

                Ukyou turned away.  She had planned to give Ranma a _special_ meal after the funeral, in order to _cheer_ him up.

                "I'm definitely going to see Sarah."

                "So your question is whether you should come back or not.  How long are you going to be there?"

                Ranma paused, then said, "No that's not a question at all.'

                Ukyou looked down.

                "I'm sorry.   It took me time to realize it, but there's nothing here for me now."

                The chef maintained her silence.

                "The only real friend I have is you and well. . . ." Ranma trailed off.  "Sarah lives in a small town in Southern Wyoming.  From the calls they seem like a nice if not particularly odd family."

                "So do they know about the curse?"

                "Kind-of.  As I said before, stress makes the curse very random, and I changed during a call."

                "Oh."

                "That's not even half of it.  The lawyer set up a video conference in his office."

                "Why did you do that if you were at risk?"

                "I wanted to see her, and I couldn't keep the curse a secret forever." Ranma stood up and hefted his pack.  He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and left it on the counter. "This is the phone number to the house; please don't tell anyone else about this."

                Ukyou watched stunned, as Ranma walked away. "Your English is very good," she finally said.

                Ranma nodded and left the restaurant.

[End Prolog]

Chapter 1 - Lockridge

"What do you want?" Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

                Ranma looked out his window and saw the odd roof to Denver International Airport.  It looked like a giant white tarp pulled over a mountain range.  The plane landed, taxied, and docked. Ranma got out of the seat and took his pack.  It was his only baggage and contained all of his possessions.  Ranma was never really into materialism, but still - to have all your existence boiled down to one bag.

                Customs gave a cursory glance at his student visa and passport, and welcomed him to the United States.  After customs, Ranma went to the men's room.

                While using the sink, a faucet broke.  Used to this kind of thing, Ranma managed to dodge most of the water, avoiding getting soaked, but not enough to prevent the change.

                Some were perplexed when they saw a redheaded Japanese girl exit the Men's room, but no one really commented.  Ranma looked around the terminal for Sarah's father.  A tall man in sheriff's khakis walked up to Ranma.  He had dark blue eyes and short red hair.  "Are you Ranma?" the Irish cop asked.

                "How did you know?" Ranma asked.

                "Even if Sarah hadn't mentioned your curse, I'd have known for reasons that will become apparent when you meet your sister. Come on, let's go to the car."

                Ranma shook her head, "Don't you find this odd."

                "What, that my wife's first child changed sex in front of my daughter's eyes?" the cop smiled. "Sorry to disappoint, but you only rank within my top dozen, not my top ten weird things. Oh by the way, my name's Jack O'Neil."

                Ranma paused at this. That name sounded very familiar. 

                O'Neil smiled, "I have the same name as a character in Stargate SG1. Except my last name has only one 'L'. You know the circle portal thing."

                Ranma nodded.  She had seen the movie. "Isn't that set in Colorado?"

                "Yup, Cheyenne Mountain, NORAD." O'Neil said. "But it's more of a documentary than a cable show."

                Ranma pondered this as they walked out of the airport.  This guy was weird.  He wasn't even fazed by the curse and claimed some scifi movie was real.

                In the parking garage, O'Neil led Ranma to a large jeep with "Lockridge Sheriff's Department" stenciled on the hood.   O'Neil put Ranma's pack in the back and opened the passenger door.  The sheriff got in the driver's seat and drove out of the parking lot.

                "Would you like to learn about your mother Nodoka?"

                Ranma nodded.

***************

                During the five hour drive northwest,  O'Neil told about how he found Nodoka drifting though town.  They married quickly and shortly thereafter Sarah was born.  Jack seemed reluctant for furnish further details about their meeting.

                She was a good woman, but a part of her soul was destroyed by Genma.  Forbidden to see her first born. He talked about the 15 years of bliss. About Sarah. ("She looks exactly like you, Ranma.  You both take after your mother.)  Then the accident.  A drunken driver plowed into a car driven by Jean, Jack's sister, with Nodoka in the passenger seat.  Both were killed instantly.  Jack was the apprehending officer.  He noted that the driver had an 'accident' of his own shortly after he met bail.  Some of the stories were fantastic and bizarre.  Jack was vague, but apparently Lockridge rivaled Nerima.

                Ranma described her life - the fiancées the curse. Every time she talked about Genma's stupidity Jack nodded grimly.

***************

                Lockridge was a small town nestled in a mountain valley.  O'Neil had two deputies working under him.  Being mid-spring, only the mountain tops had any snow on them. They were covered with evergreens and huge rocks protruded from the ground.  Even the center of town had the feel of the frontier. 

                O'Neil turned down a side road and drove up into the mountains. After going only half a mile, all signs of human existence were removed, save the road and a set of power lines.  O'Neil rounded a corner and stopped in front of a good sized house.  It looked old but well maintained.  When O'Neil shut off the engine, Ranma heard gunfire.  She looked over to O'Neil who appeared unconcerned.

                "We'll drop off you bags and go up to the range," O'Neil said walking up the steps and onto the porch.

                Ranma hoisted her pack and followed the sheriff inside.  Walking into the cluttered living room, she saw some guy asleep on the couch. He opened his eyes and for a split second Ranma was sure that they were glowing red, but they were a dusty brown.  When he stood up, Ranma got a good look at him.  He was a Caucasian who bore a strong resemblance to the sheriff, who appeared to have wandered into the kitchen.

                He stood more than a head over Ranma and had spiky brown hair.  "Hey Sarah," he yawned, leaning back.  He looked blank for a second, then focused on Ranma. "Wait a minute," he said looking at Ranma's face and the braided pigtail. "You're not. . .  oh I see.  Hey Ranma.  I'm Dan. Dan Arzish.  Boy she wasn't kidding when she said you did that."

                "Did what?" Ranma asked.

                "The curse. I mean aren't you supposed to be a guy." Dan yawned and wandered off, going up the stairs.

                Ranma blinked and shook her head.  What the hell's going on around here? Ranma was reminded of when she arrived at the Tendos.  This was not how people are supposed to react to seeing a curse like this.  Oh well, at least these people seem nice even if a little odd.  Ranma walked into the kitchen.  Jack was staring out a side window. His hand had fallen to his sidearm.  He twitched slightly and turned to Ranma. "I was looking for you.  Come on, let's go up to the range and talk to Sarah."

                The living room and the kitchen, both large rooms, made up half of the floor space of the ground floor.  The living room was in the front and the kitchen was in the back.  The other half consisted of rooms that Ranma had yet to enter.  

                Ranma went out the back door and onto the large porch that encircled the house.  The house, built into one of the more gentle regions at the foot of the mountain, had only a half a flight of steeps at the front of the house with the back nearly at ground level.

                 Ranma put her pack next to the door and went outside.

                Along a well worn path, O'Neil led Ranma a hundred yards up the slope.   As they walked the sounds of gunfire increased.  It was in bursts of four or five shots followed by a pause then another burst.  At the end of the path was a large clearing.  Graded flat and level, it was twenty yards wide and went back over two hundred yards into the hillside.  This formed a large bank at the end of the range and smaller triangular banks among the sides.  A line of stones had been buried flush to the ground running from one side of the range to another.  

                A girl was standing at this line in a fleece vest and pair of jeans.  Her bright red hair was pulled back in a lose pony tail.  She had a large shotgun shouldered.  Her foot touched down on a pedal resting on the ground.  The pedal was connected to a simple trap machine.  The spring loaded arm flung a row of four clay disks.  Each was subjected to different accelerations and torques and thus each arced at a different angle and inclination.

                She turned the gun fluidly, precisely, and squeezed the trigger.  Thunder rolled up the mountain.  The lowest target burst into a thousand particles.  She pumped shotgun and fired again destroying the next disk.  She continued racking the weapon, hitting the targets when their trajectory reached apex.  It was over in seconds.

                She slung the weapon over her shoulder and turned around. The teleconference's video was of rather low resolution.  All Ranma could honestly tell from it was that Sarah was a redhead.   

                Now Ranma could see her face, and aside from having traces of her European heritage she was nearly identical to Ranma.  Something about that seemed odd.  "How old are you?  I mean look at us." Ranma said pointing at her own body then at Sarah's.

                O'Neil decided to speak up, "According to the records you differ by nearly a year.  Your birthdays are only a week apart."

                "Remember, that body of yours is a curse.  What was it again?" Sarah said.

                "Spring of drowned girl." Ranma said looking at the range. It made sense but something else tugged at the back of her mind.  If she was a year older than Sarah, then that means that their mother was impregnated about three months after her first birth.   That seemed suspiciously fast, especially for a woman who had been horribly betrayed by the last man she trusted.

                "That could be it," Sarah said while she put the trap machine in a small shed of to the side well behind the range line. "I mean the curse could have set your age back or something."

                Ranma nodded.  She was looking at a strange wooden tripod-like device. It sat in its own little range perpendicular to the main one.  It supported two logs cut crosswise.  They were about a foot long and a foot in radius.

                "Like the hawk blocks?" Sarah said, closing the shed.

                "Huh," Ranma said. She then walked up to them.  The faces of the logs were scored with hundreds of linear cuts and rough notches. It then dawned on her. "Ah, it's for knife throwing."

                "Or ax or tomahawk." Sarah added.  She was lowering a rope tied to the base of a flagpole.  Once the flag was at the base, she tied it back.  "The flag goes up when the range is occupied," she told Ranma.

                "I've got to go back to the station. Be back later tonight." O'Neil said.  He then walked down the path.  A little later, a truck started and drove off.

                "You know he really liked you." Sarah said behind Ranma.

                "Yeah I figured. He's usually very quiet isn't he?"

                "Yup, even when Mom was around he never talked much."

                "She really was something wasn't she? I mean you dad spent nearly the whole trip talking about her."

                Sarah started down the path. "Come on let's go inside."

                Ranma followed her.  A month ago he would have never comprehended this. Oh sure, before the Tendo place, he had been constantly on the road moving from one place to another, but this was the furthest.  Out in America, with a half sister.  

                Finding out that his father had banished his mother.  Sadly it wasn't even one of the worst things that Genma had done.  Once again he had ditched all that he had for a new life.  Although now Ranma was now grateful for those hideous English lessons Cologne had put him through.  He managed to carry on functional conversations with both Jack and Sarah.

                Ranma followed her sister in the house.  Dan was at the table working on some type of mechanical apparatus.  "Dan, don't to that in the kitchen," Sarah said.

                "What?  You clean your guns here," Dan said, hitting the catalytic converter with a pipe wrench. 

                "So do you."

                "Exactly."

                Sarah rubbed her forehead, "Fine.  Could you clean my gun while I show Ranma her room?"

                "Okay, but it'll cost you."

                Sarah racked the shotgun so that its action was open, exposing an empty breach and an unloaded tube, and handed it over to Dan. "I'll cook dinner."

                Ranma shook her head and picked up her pack.  As she left the room, she heard Dan mutter under his breath "Damn twins."  A month ago, Ranma would have taken offence to that, but that was a different person.  Before, Ranma was macho and swaggering, hiding behind his ego, a person that was frighteningly similar to his father.  All that Ranma had was martial arts.  He didn't have family or friends. Although he was not sure if he had either now.  He was taking a big risk here.

                "Hey Ranma?" Sarah asked at the top of the stairs. 

                "Huh?" Ranma said.

                "There's a bathroom at the head of the stairs." Sarah pointed to a door on the left.

                Ranma walked up the narrow staircase.  Sarah stepped back.  Ranma walked into the open bathroom.  Using the sink she tried the hot water first then the cold no change.

                "The curse is probably still unstable.  Could be jet lag?"

                Ranma nodded.  She was still really groggy even though she slept during the entire flight.

                "Okay," Sarah continued.  "You said that sometimes you can change at will."

                "Yeah," Ranma said stepping out of the bathroom.

                "Come on I'll show you your room."

                Ranma followed Sarah to the guest room at the end of the hall.  Sarah opened the door to a nondescript bed room.  Ranma put his pack on the bed.

                "Is this fine?" Sarah asked.

                "Sure.  Why'd you ask about the curse?"

                "Oh," Sarah said, glancing out the window.  "It's just that being in a new location, the curse might have to adapt to local magics."

                "But my curse had been acting up since. . . . Wait, are there curses and stuff here too."

                "Nope.  No curses per say, but weird things do happen," Sarah dodged.  "But I wouldn't be surprised.  You said that a focused mind could control the curse."

                "To a degree."

                "Then sit here," Sarah said pulling the pack off the bed.

                Ranma complied sitting in the lotus position.

                "Now try to clear you mind.  Reach out; you should be able to tap into an energy well."

                Ranma felt a tingling grow inside his skull, like a strong electric current.

                "Now link it to your curse.  That's it.  Use it to revert back," Sarah said keeping her voice strangely flat.

                Ranma diverted the flux.  It touched his curse and the change happened.  Ranma felt the familiar shift and turned.  He opened his eyes and looked at Sarah.  She was nodding. "What?" Ranma asked.

                "You're good," Sarah stated, making several mental notes.

                "I am a martial artist, you know." Ranma said stretching his arms.

                "True, come on.  I've got to get dinner ready."  Sarah left the room.

                Ranma sat for a second and pondered.  When Cologne tried to teach him to change at will, there was no stream, no flux. Maybe this was just the first time he noticed it, but how did Sarah know?  Ranma remembered that he had to be careful until he adjusted.  He had no intention of screwing up like he did at the Tendo's.  Ranma stood up.  Wandering down the hall, he noticed that the lights were recessed in the corners where the walls met the ceiling.

                Ranma walked into the kitchen.  Dan's engine part, or whatever it was, was gone and in its place was Sarah's gun.  He had the thing disassembled, and was running clean patches through the barrel.  Dan looked up. "Hey.  So you're back to your old self. Pull up a chair and we'll spin a yarn."

                "Shut up," Sarah said from the stove where she had started cooking in some kind of pot. "We aren't a bunch of hicks, Ranma."

                "Okay," Ranma said.  The smell from the pot was very familiar. "Ramen," he guessed.

                Sarah nodded.  "Yup.  Foods just about the only thing Mom taught me that was even remotely oriental."

                Ranma sat down.  Come to think of it, there was no trace of anything Japanese in the house, except the food.  But then, Nodoka had no reason to feel obligated to the country of her birth.

                Dan finished cleaning the gun, reassembled it, and walked out of the room. He came back a couple minutes later, sans gun.   He started setting the table for three persons.  "Oh Sarah, Jack called. He'll be staying late tonight, so he won't be here for dinner."

                Sarah nodded and continued to cook the food.

                Dan turned to Ranma, "So, you gonna tell us about all your zany adventures?"

                "What about you guys?" Ranma asked.  "I mean Mr. O'Neil made it seem that this place had its share of oddities."

                "Just call him Jack, everyone does."  Dan continued, "Well some things have happened, but Jack is known for embellishment."

                Ranma looked at Sarah who had remained silent.  Even if Jack was little odd, Ranma didn't think that he was the type to say anything other than the truth.  Then again, it wasn't like anyone around here was anything but odd, himself included.  Ranma decided to give it time, and not rush things.

                Ranma had also come to realize that he was always putting his foot in his mouth. If he told about his life, he could prattle on and not risk asking the wrong questions.  So when dinner was served, he gave his life's story.

                Dan and Sarah listened, nodding in all the right places, but something was off.  It was almost as if they had heard this story before. Well maybe not this story exactly, but this type of story.  The ramen even tasted identical to what Shampoo would make.  And one thing was still bugging him.

                "Why did Mom stop in this town? What was she even doing in Wyoming?"

                Sarah glanced at Dan. "We were planning on taking you to the place where Mom met Dad after school tomorrow, and tell you what brought her here," she explained

                "School? Yeah I guess I need to go," Ranma muttered to himself, then aloud, "But why don't you tell the story now, and how come you're not surprised at all by my life."

                Dan spoke up, "Well we're kind of in the same situation.  Do you know why I'm here in this house?"

                "No."

                "I'm Sarah's cousin.  My dad died of cancer many years ago."

                It took Ranma a few seconds to get it.  There was another person in the car with Nodoka. "So both your parents are dead too."

                Dan nodded.

                "Okay Dan.  I cooked, you clean," Sarah said.

                "Fine."

                Sarah stood up, "Ranma, want to see the rest of the place?"

                "Why not," Ranma said.  Having something to relate to with these people made it easier to accept the warnings in the back of his mind.

***************

                There were two rooms that Ranma had not seen on the first floor.  The room that used to be a dinning room now stored a couple server banks, miscellaneous computer equipment, and storage boxes. A cavernous sunken den was set up to be an entertainment center.  A door in the den lead to a two bay garage.  The rear of the garage held an extensive metal shop. One of the bays was empty, presumably for Jack's Jeep.

                The other held what used to be a late eighties Suburban.  The huge truck had been modified extensively, and according to Sarah, all the work had been done by Dan himself.  The truck had a lift kit, brush guards rear and front, step up running boards, wide all terrain tires, fog lamps, light rack, winch, heavy dual exhaust pipes, custom suspension and shocks, tinted windows, and god only knew what Dan did to the engine, for the hood had multiple intake scoops mounted in it.

                Ranma walked up to the vehicle.  Its semi-gloss black paint seemed to move and swirl. The truck had overpowering presence.

                Sarah stood next to Ranma, "It's almost as if it's alive."

                Ranma nodded looking at his reflection in the inky surface.

                "He calls it 'the Beast.' Go ahead, touch it."

                The pigtailed martial artist placed his palm on the hood.  The metal under seemed to vibrate and squirm.  Ranma pulled his hand back, unsettled.

                "Cool isn't it.  Dan spent three years building this thing.  A year longer than he's been driving.  He's spent so much time with it, it's almost as if part of his soul is in it."

                Ranma eyed the truck.  It was beautiful; an achievement in manufacturing, engineering, and art, but still there was a definite sense of wrongness to it.  Sarah took Ranma back into the den and turned off the lights.  Ranma turned to see the truck melt into the darkness.

                The upstairs held four bedrooms and two baths.  One of the bathrooms was in the master bedroom, leaving one bathroom for Ranma, Sarah, and Dan.   The bedrooms were what Ranma expected them to be.  Dan's was cluttered with papers, books, and random metal components.  Sarah's was reasonably neat, and except for the weapons, ammo, and trophy heads, it was much like a normal teenage girl's room.  Jack's was pressboard neat, with very minimalist furniture.  Each bedroom had its own homebuilt computer, and was LAN'ed to the servers in what used to be the dinning room.

                After the tour, Sarah went to the server room to fix a broken tower.  As he watched, Ranma was given a lecture on the basics of computers.  Dan was apparently in the garage working.  Jack came home, said his hellos and had some leftover ramen in the den.

                Soon, he was joined by Dan.  Ranma then followed Sarah into the room.  The TV was on, and Ranma sat himself down next to Sarah on the big couch.  Dan and Jack were both sitting in easy chairs that flanked the couch.  They watched a strange show where small robots and a big dopey guy from Wisconsin made fun of excruciatingly bad movies.  Some of it was very funny, and Ranma guessed that he would have gotten the rest, but the jokes were rooted heavily in Americana.  After three of the movies. Everyone scattered, and eventually went to bed.

                While Ranma prepared for bed, he brooded on his new family, eventually falling asleep.  Dan and Sarah were in their own rooms, having a conversation via the LAN. Jack linked in and out to make occasional observations, but stayed silent.

                Eventually the two reached an agreement.  Ranma had the potential and the skill. Tomorrow they would show him the standing ring.

[End Chapter 1]


	2. Any sufficiently advanced technology. . ...

Chapter 2 - Any sufficiently advanced technology. . .

"No one here is exactly what he appears." Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

                Ranma woke up. Getting out of the bed he noticed the silence.   Walking to the window he looked out.  Tree after tree stretched out until they blocked the view. After dressing, Ranma went down the stairs.  He looked out a front window just in time to see Jack's jeep speed down the driveway.

                "Sorry 'bout that there was an accident on the highway a county over, jack-knifed trailer," Sarah said, with slight worry. She was wearing the same blue vest she had on yesterday. Under it she had on a green scoop neck dress. Her hair was unbound and rested freely.

                Ranma looked at his sister. She was almost and exact duplicate of his girl side.

                "You know bro. If you weren't family or didn't have a body like this too."

                The martial artist pulled back.  "I guess I was staring," he thought.

                "If you want to.  I could give you some of my clothes. I'm sure they'll fit."

                Ranma backed off confused.

                "Lighten up man," Sarah said grinning. "Come on we've got breakfast."

                Ranma then followed his sister into the kitchen.  Dan was sitting in at the table drinking a large cup of coffee.  He looked worn out, but strangely enthused.  "Jack left pretty late."

                "Um but it's morning. Right?" Ranma said, sleep had helped, but he still had a little jet lag.

                "Crap!" Dan said jumping up to his feet. "At least I'm done."

                "You finished.   I was wondering how long does it take to rebuild a V-10," Sarah said.

                Dan grinned. 

                Sarah's eyes widened. "Good god no, you didn't."

                "What did he do?" Ranma asked Sarah.

                "I'll show you," Dan said rushing off to the den.

                Sarah shrugged, and they both  followed Dan to the garage.  The hood was open to the beast and the garage door was up.  Tubes ran from the exhaust pipes and out the door.  "Come on in, don't step on the hoses.  After that first test I realized that I had to add some type of extended regulator.  A normal muffler and cat-back won't handle this baby," Dan said pointing to the inside of the engine compartment.

                "No, no, no," Sarah was softly chanting.

                Ranma looked at the engine.  It was some type of heavy cylinder that hat several leads and conduits running from it.  "What is it?"

                "A helicopter crashed last winder during a snowstorm.  It went up for salvage.  Dan bought the engine.  Dad let him keep it.  Sure, Dan's a genius mechanic, but come-on.  It's a damn chopper engine.  You told us that you were just reconditioning the old engine," Sarah said.

                Dan shrugged and walked over to the driver side door. Using the step-up Dan slid into the cockpit. He fished out a key from his pocket.  Dan slid it into the ignition. Pushed down on the accelerator, checked to make sure it was in neutral.  He then turned it one notch.  The truck started a deep humming almost grinding as the turbines wound up to full speed.  Dan then tuned it to the next notch sending the air fuel mix into the ignition chamber.  The engine then burst into a full roar, and the vibrations lessened.  Dan then eased up on the gas letting the engine idle. Dan jumped out of his seat.

                "So what do you think?" Dan asked.  "I believe I solved the exhaust problem.  The system is holding up.  Notice how at the running RPM the stabilizers worked fine, but during start up or shut down they don't hold it all. Still haven't got it but" Dan then continued to ramble about the engine.

                "How did you fit this thing in the engine compartment?" Sarah interrupted.

                "I extended the front a foot." Dan said shutting down the beast.

                Sarah examined the truck.  Come to think of it.  The beast was longer.  "And you just finished now?"

                "I finished the engine itself a week ago.  The exhaust system itself took until about an hour ago," Dan said.  "I was just getting some coffee and a bite."

                "Come on bro." Sarah said, "We can have breakfast while Dan over here cleans up."

                In the kitchen Ranma ate his cereal in silence.  "I can't believe it," Sarah said. "He did it.  Dan did it. He put a fucking turbo prop turbine in a truck.  What the hell is he going to fuel it with, diesel I guess."  Ranma was surprised, but ever since Nerima he had been slightly deadened to weirdness. Well not since the arrival, but since Genma's death.

                They finished the food and walked over to the living room.  Sarah got her pack.  "We can stop off and get you a one after school.  Then, we can stop at the place where Mom met Dad."

                Ranma followed Sarah back to the garage.  Dan had cleaned up all the hoses and put away most of his tools.  He had the truck started, and Ranma could fell the vibrations from inside the den.  Dan was in the driver's seat and had the window down. "Come on in the back," he said.

                The truck was a four door, so Ranma went around to the passenger side to get in.  the interior was plain but comfortable Once inside, Sarah clipped on her seatbelt.  "Better do yours too," she said to Ranma.  Ranma complied afraid for what Dan was about to do.

                With a mad grin Dan shifted into drive.  The truck slowly rolled out of the bay.  Ranma relaxed. Dan then used garage remote to close the door, then he hit it.

                The beasts shot down the driveway.  Diving down a dirt road at over fifty, the truck hit every pothole and rock.  Dan's suspension held true as the truck seemed to glide over the obstructions, then again the vibration of the engine could be masking the road condition.

                Dan came to the end of the driveway and onto paved road.  "Oh yeah. Four wheel drive.  It's the only way to fly."

                Once on asphalt Dan opened it up.   Driving with disturbing skill and control, Dan wrenched the truck around curves and floored it trough to straight-aways.  Ranma swore that when the beast crested a hill it would go airborne.

                The truck slammed to ground, slowed.  Then Dan swerved it into a spin and when it had twisted 90 degrees Dan floored it again, to get through the intersection

                Ranma had restored to closing his eyes, but that just made it worse. Now it felt like they were doing barrel rolls.  Thankful for the seatbelt, Ranma was felt like he was being pulled apart.  Then it stopped.  The only sound was the rumbling of the turbine.

                "First time in a car?" Sarah said grinning.

                "This is not a car," Ranma replied, felling sick.

                "Got that right," Dan said. "Hear that baby purr."

                Ranma looked out the window or tried to. They were heavily tinted.  The truck had stopped in front of a large house.  Dan revved the engine, sounding very much like a lifting chopper. A big chopper.  Ranma thought he saw motion in the yard but it was hard to tell.  Then the front passenger door opened.  A tall blonde entered the truck.  Her hair was pulled to the back of her head with a large hair clip.  She was wearing a tight blouse and  skirt that nicely showed off her body.

                "You could use you horn like a normal person," she said, putter her pack on the floor between her legs.

                "Would a normal person put a helicopter engine in his truck. Oh and, you were right the problem with the exhaust was in volume not temperature," Dan said.

                "Told yah. You must be Ranma, Sarah's long lost brother" she said turning back.

                "And you are?" Ranma asked.

                "Allison Terson, Dan's girlfriend," the blonde said with her arm outstretched.

                Ranma shook the given hand.

                "Allison may be a bit mad but otherwise she's family," Sarah said.

                "Oh, I'm the crazy one, not the gun nut, or helicopter boy," Allison stated.

                "Hey!" Dan and Sarah said simultaneously.

                "Kidding.  Open this bad boy up," Allison said enthusiastically.

                Dan dropped it into drive and was off.  This time Ranma kept his eyes open.  Trees streaked past with such velocity that Ranma was unable to identify them.  At least when they reached Lock Ridge proper Dan cut back driving somewhat sanely.

                He pulled into the parking lot to a smallish high school.  The building itself looked rather new and well maintained. Dan put the truck in park, and turned off the ignition.  The turbine slowed and stopped.  Everyone opened their door when  Ranma cried out "Damn it."

                Ranma was now in her female form, soaking wet.

                "You weren't lying were you," Allison said to Dan.

                "Hey why'd you have to tell," Ranma said.

                "She would have found out sooner or later," Dan said.

                "What happened?" Sarah asked getting her pack.

                "Car drove past and hit a puddle," Ranma said.

                "Weird," Allison said.

                Ranma perked up at this.  Was someone finally going to be shocked or freaked out by this curse.

                "You're twins," Allison said pointing at both Ranma and Sarah.

                Dan walked up, wearing a large black trench coat, over the jeans, shirt, and boots he had on yesterday. "Well they are sisters. Allison want to help me check to see if the drive damage anything?"

                "Sure we've got some time before class," Allison said following Dan to the back gate of the beast.  Where he got out a flashlight and a multi-meter.

                "Come on Ranma they should have water in the bathroom," Sarah said.

                Ranma followed her up the steps of the school. "Wait what about that mind thing you told me about?"

                "Too draining."

                "But what if someone sees us?"

                "We're a half an hour early hardly anyone's here, and the bathroom is just on the other side of the  entrance."

                "Fine," Ranma said and entered the school.

                The main entrance to the school was a large two story foyer, with three hallways branching out of it and two sets of stairs going to the second floor.  The second floor had region that ran around the foyer a floor bellow. This was the student lounge and the entrance was visible from it.  Even if either Ranma or Sarah had looked up they would not have seen a girl with short black hair sitting in a chair near the guardrail and using a laptop.  The lights were off in the lounge and she sat in shadows.

                The girl, however, was looking down.  "What the?" she thought, "Sarah O'Neill has a twin sister?" It was hard to tell at this angle.  So she took out her camera.  It had a zoom lens. "Yes they're almost identical," she thought to herself.  She then hooked up her I/O sphere to the laptop and did a scan.   "Interesting, Sarah had a filled template, no surprise there, but this other one had the potential and something else.  Code that the interpreter won't recognize.  Oh well, I wanted to try out the effective range of this thing," she thought.  

                The girl loaded a template.  She found it while hacking an old classmates computer.  A bit sloppily done, but the creator had never intended to use it.  Sarah had been working on her template for years and the writer of this one had to have known it.  So the template in question was only an idle fantasy.  Nevertheless when the girl found it she made a copy.  She made her own modifications, but never intend to be able to use it

                The template was designed for Sarah's body alone and she already had a template,  but now this other girl. . .  She was close enough to Sarah for the template to work.  The girl transferred the template to the I/O sphere and locked onto Sarah's twin.  The girl waited for Ranma to go into the bathroom, ("Odd why'd she go in the men's room.  Oh well") then told the sphere to imprint the template.

                Ranma was in the bathroom about to turn the faucet on when her body was engulfed in a pink light.  Ranma started to lift off the ground, the light getting brighter, blinding her.  A tingling started on her skin, then grew deeper seeming to go through her.

                Then it was done.  Ranma was standing again. She looked at her reflection in mute horror.  Her hair was had become unbound,  then styled into a feathered wavy body with pink, glittery highlights.  Part was pulled back with a pink bow in a loose, high pony tail while the rest flowed freely.  A golden tiara set with pink gems rested on the crown of her head.

                Ranma trembled then looked further down.  Her face was extensively made up. It worked to maximize her femininity, but what really unsettled her was the eye shadow and lipstick.  The eye shadow was a very faded very glittery pink, and the lipstick was a nauseating coral pink.

                Her ears had been pierced and long sparkling earrings dangled from the lobes.  Her neck was surrounded by a white choker.  Ranma froze when she saw shat she was wearing.  It was a fuku.  Not the normal school type, but the magic girl type.  A tiny skirt and a  tight, body hugging leotard, with pink bows and  ribbons that kept her decent while still giving plenty of cleavage.  It was white with pink trim and also sparkly.  She shuddered again when she realized that she was wearing panties, undoubtedly pink.

                She looked down to see long shapely smooth legs.  Running from pink high heeled boots to the ridiculously short skirt.  She had seen her body in feminine, sexy outfits before, but nothing like this.  She pulled her hand to her face to see if this was real, when she noticed her arm.  It had a slender feminine metal bracer on it engraved in fine pink lines.  Her fingernails were long, shaped, and covered in sparkly pink polish.

                She then looked behind to see  two small angel wings sprouting form her back.  The fuku was low backed as not to interfere with the wings. They twitched when she touched them.  She could feel from them. They moved slightly. The wings were a part of her body. 

                Ranma did what anyone else would do in a situation similar to this: she fainted.

                Sarah waited next to the door for a minute and when Ranma failed to exit went in. "Damn," Sarah said when she found Ranma passed out on the floor dressed like some cosplay reject

                "Wake up," Sarah said to the pseudo magic girl.

                Ranma opened her eyes looked at her state of dress and promptly fainted again.

                "Fine be that way," Sarah said as she left the room.

                Dan was laying under the beast checking the exhaust system when Allison kicked him lightly. "What?" Dan asked sliding out from beneath the undercarriage.

                Allison pointed to Sarah who said, "Dan we have a problem."

                Dan and Alison went inside the school behind Sarah.  Arriving inside the bathroom Dan halted at what he saw.  Allison stood next to him silent. He turned to his cousin, "Please don't tell me that Ranma was just imprinted."

                "I haven't done a scan, but it appears that way."

                "Just great," Dan muttered. "Suggestions?"

                "The standing circle," Sarah said, looking ad her near twin.

                Allison nodded.  

                "Okay lets get him to the beast."

                "Her," Allison corrected.

                "Whatever," Sarah said.

                The lady in shadows watched as her new toy was carried out of the bathroom and out the building.  She had an inkling as to where they would take their charge.  She would watch the circle and wait.

                Ranma opened her eyes, then looked at herself.  She was wearing her customary Chinese style clothes and she wasn't felling any wings or other weird stuff. Her ears didn't have earnings nor were pierced. "It was only a dream," she said.

                "Not quite," Dan said.  He was sitting on the ground a few feet away working at a laptop.  The computer was connected to a small metal sphere. 

                Ranma stood up.  They were all in a small clearing.  Tall trees arched overhead, closing in on the sky giving the effect of a cathedral or shrine.  Ranma then noticed the stones.  Running the circumference of the  clearing where thirteen large boulders.  Looking like natural formations at first glance, the stones changed to seeming artificial and placed.  "What is this place?" Ranma asked. "What happened to me."

                "This a nexus, a well, a stream, and a forge," Dan said typing.

                "But what happened."

                "What of magic do you see?"

                "Huh?"

                " 'Magic' is what we do not understand.  It is a matter of perspective," Dan said, still typing.

                "This valley has always attracted those of potential," Sarah said. "Saints, madmen seers, sorcerers, the unique, the great, and the small.  People like our mother."

                "Is this place what brought mom here?"

                "Yes," Sarah said, then continued. "One person who came here was a sorcerer fed up with the old ways.  The magic he studied required the precise recitation of thousands of lines of script.  It was time consuming and difficult to write new spells and edit old ones, then came computers.   He embraced the emerging technology.  Here was a device capable of storing mass quantities of information, and executing directions with a precision and speed unheard of."

                Ranma blinked.  Where was she going with this.

                "But he still had to recite  his spells, and type in his observations.  So he created this," Sarah said pointing to the sphere.

                "What is it?"

                "An I/O sphere. It can scan ambient surroundings, and execute spells."

                Slight comprehension dawned on Ranma, "So what happened to me was. . ."

                "A program being imprinted onto your body."

                "Is it another curse?" Ranma asked.

                "See for yourself," Dan said turning the computer around. 

                Ranma looked at the screen.  Strange code scrolled along one side of the screen.  It was similar to the code Sarah was using when she worked on the computers yesterday, but something about it was different. The other side had assorted images.  An earring, a bracer, a heeled boot,  a tiara, and a few other items, but the largest image held them all.  It was a rendering of herself or Sarah, at this resolution it was impossible to tell.  The image was wearing the exact outfit Ranma had changed into in the bathroom.  "What the?" Ranma said. "Is this the program that wizard made?"

                "Sort of," Sarah said.  "This is a more visual version of the program but it still has the same core as the original."

                "So what happened to me?"

                "That's what we're trying to find out. Some went through a lot of trouble writing this.  Did you see anyone in the bathroom or an I/O sphere?"

                "No. Why?"

                "This is bad," Dan said. "You see an I/O sphere has a limited range, like a few feet.  But what you're saying indicates a long range sphere."

                "A sphere could have been hidden in the room," Allison suggested.

                "But why there? There aren't too many spheres rolling around, and that still doesn't explain why someone made a Sarah based template, that would never have been imprinted if Ranma had never shown up."

                "Imprint what are you talking about?" Ranma asked.

                Sarah inhaled then began to speak, "Magic has three parts:  a base energy required to power operations, a set of rules or procedures to organize and direct the base energy, and a vessel to facilitate the changes. With Calash only certain people have the potential to be a vessel.   Take your Jusenkyou curse.  The spring is the power.  The curse itself is the code.  You are the vessel.  The result is a curse that can change you sex.  Now with me the circle is the power.  My template is the code.  And I'm the vessel."  Sarah closed her eyes, and a orange light enveloped her.

                When it dimmed, Sarah was wearing a tight fitting suit of power armor.  Her hair was pulled back and had orange highlights.  She also held a huge futuristic riffle. 

                Dan stood up, his coat trailing behind him and with a fluid motion produced an Uzi in each hand.  He was also wearing several bandoleers filled with clips of ammo and had about a dozen guns in various holsters.  His eyes were glowing red.

                Ranma twitched, then felt a tingling. "Not again." Ranma though before the pink light engulfed her. "Damn, damn, damn.  Fuck," The now fuku clad girl chanted.

                "So you know how to swear in English," Sarah commented using her gun's strap to rest it on her back.

                Dan started sniggering.

                "What are you laughing at?" Ranma asked.

                "Sorry. You don't see a cast member of Sailor Moon spewing a stream of expletives all that often." Dan said, holstering the two guns he held.

                "You see Ranma, a template is a particularly large bit of code that can augment a person's form extensively, giving them powers and abilities.  Because of their size and complexity, a template takes months of solid coding and has to be specially made for its user," Sarah said.

                "But wait couldn't this have been designed for you, after all we're nearly identical," Ranma said.

                "No I already have a template."

                Ranma had a bad felling as to where this was going.

                "You see technically a template can't be deleted,  although once installed it can be edited almost in its entirety."

                "So you could just cut it out. overwrite the existing program," Ranma stated.

                "It's not that simple," Dan said looking at the laptop. "There are some variables that can be edited right off the bat, but the rest of the code needs a decryption key to be changed.  As it is now your template is essentially read-only.

                "That's why this couldn't have been meant for Sarah.  Her template is locked too, but she has the key."

                "Could you hack into it and find my key?"

                "None of us could.  Perhaps someone _really good might get in.  But if we could get the edit code to your template, then we could strip it down to the base and rewrite the entire thing."_

                "Wait, what about you and Allison, do you two have templates?" 

                Dan pointed to the guns. 

                "So, I knew a guy that could do stuff like that."

                Dan took out a knife, pulled up his left  sleeve, and jabbed the point in.  He then drew it forward until it reached his wrist.  Only a small amount of blood oozed out of the huge gash.  "Get closer I'm only going to show this once."  Ranma complied, walking in to get a better view of the self mutilation.  Dan then spread out the skin on either side of the cut, revealing metal strands intermixed with muscles.

                "You're a. . ." Ranma tried to say, but didn't know the English translation.

                "Cyborg," Dan offered.

                "Yes, a only real gear head would tweak his own body," Allison said.

                Dan grinned and pulled the wound closed, where it promptly began to heal.

                "And you turn into?" Ranma inquired.

                A sliver fluid seemed to pour out of Allison's skin. It covered her skin and clothing, then lost definition and turned transparent, clear.  She had turned invisible. "Quicksilver," Allison's   disembodied voice said.  "A synthetic compound that can bend light.  I have a gland produces this chemical."  The space next to Dan distorted forming a vaguely human semi-sliver shape.  The quicksilver then flaked off and fell to the ground. Leaving Allison  visible again.

                "Okay," Ranma said. At least this explained why they weren't surprised by the curse.  "So I can't  change the template without that code."

                Sarah switched back to her default form, looked at the screen, "Not entirely.  Dan said you could change minimal things like colors and other simple modifications."

                Ranma looked down, "So, I'm stuck with this unless we get the key."

                "Yes but, unlike your curse, the user has  near total activation control of  a template."

                "So I'm stuck with this damn thing, but I don't need to use it."

                "True," Dan said tentatively, while reverting.

                "Why does this crap happen to me?" groaned Ranma.

                "Most can be attributed to you father," Sarah said. "He was the one who got you cursed, and it was his death that made it unstable.  All making you shine like a beacon to anyone with a sphere. Your template does have advantages. You're faster, stronger, have sharper senses, quicker healing rates, and other advancements."

                "All of which I already have," Ranma said.

                "Yes, yes you're the world's greatest martial artist, but this essentially triples your abilities," Dan said, looking over Sarah's shoulder and watching the code.

                "And those are functional," Sarah said point to Ranma's wings.

                Ranma looked at the small wings skeptically.

                Sarah read some of the code, "They expand in size when in use."

                Ranma looked at her sister questionably, "Oh well might as well try it." She thought  Ranma leapt up into the air.  She planned on only going up about ten feet, but was surprised when she shoot up nearly the full height of the trees in the clearing.  Ranma found herself 60 feet up, then she started to fall.

                The wings reacted.  The grew out until they were six feet form wing tip to wing tip.  They spread out and supported her body.  Going on instincts provided by the template Ranma managed to get a controlled flight.

                The three Americans watched the girl glide around. "She learns fast," Allison said as Ranma pulled her wings back and  went into a steep dive then spread them out to go back up.

                "Apparently rapid adaptation is the centerpiece to Ranma's training." Sarah said while Ranma did a barrel roll.

                "Who ever designed this didn't think it through." Dan said when Ranma's skirt flipped up during a maneuver.

                "Very true," Allison said.

                They continued to watched the pink girl glide around, for a couple more minutes. "You know we do have school," Sarah said.

                "Do you really want to go," Dan asked.

                "Nah."

                Finally Ranma descended to the ground.  Her feet touched the grass, and slipped.  She then toppled falling flat on her face. No longer needed, her wings shrank back to their original size.

                "You're right," Sarah told Dan, "I mean high heels.  This was obviously never designed to be used."

                "What?" Ranma asked, getting black up.

                "Look, not a hair out of place," Allison said.

                "Yeah this template has a consistency function.  It can't be removed, damaged, or stained.  Within reason"

                "If this thing was never intended to be used, then why did I get hit by it," Ranma asked.

                "Think about this, you spend over a year making this program that's never going to be used, and then you see this girl that fits the template exactly.  A girl that has the potential, and has yet to be imprinted," Dan proposed.

                "But why did they even make it in the first place," Sarah asked.

                "Someone might have a crush on you." Allison said.

                "Right so he spends a few months writing a program," Sarah said. "Wait, Ranma how long have you been cursed?"

                "About a year and a half," Ranma said.

                "That's enough time," Dan stated. 

                "But who here knew about Ranma and the curse that long ago," Alison asked.

                Sarah shrugged.

                "What's going on?" Ranma asked.

                "We don't know," Dan said.

                "You were saying that you could do some minor modifications without a key," Ranma said grabbing the part of the fuku. 

                "To a limited extend," Sarah said. "Just colors and such."

                "Can you fix it so-"

                "It's not as garishly pink or girly," Sarah completed. "I'll try, but remember this is a magic girl template."  Sarah then typed a few things in and sent a command to the sphere.  Pink light once again engulfed Ranma but it then shifted to red. It died down and Ranma found herself still dressed, but there were a few changes.  The fuku's trim, the boots, the bows, the ribbons, and her nails were now all a deep red.

                "I essentially changed everything that was pink to red.  Except you hair.  The highlights are part of the restricted code.  Sorry," Sarah pulled out a hand mirror and gave it to Ranma.  "I managed to cut the makeup down, but I couldn't get rid of it all. As for all the glitter and crap, I got it out of your nails, off your face, removed from your clothes, and most of what was in your hair.  There was nothing I could to about the jewelry though.  It's restricted too."

                Ranma looked at her face.  It was better, but she still had traces of makeup on still had the earrings and that damned tiara now had red jewels instead of pink.  Her hair looked essentially the same but with a red bow holding back the partial pony tail and it was only a little bit sparkly.

                "How is it?  I think I can get rid of the wings too," Sarah suggested.

                "No those are the only upside to this mess, and thanks this is better at least," Ranma said handing back the mirror. "Now how do I change back?"

                "Just concentrated on it a little bit," Dan said looking around.  He then made a slight hand motion and Allison disappeared.

                Ranma tried to concentrate when the air was punctuated by an explosion.  "Heads up," Sarah yelled already in her template.  Dan, also shifted, had moved in to catch the now visible Allison who had been thrown into the air by something.  Ranma leapt up, twisted in midair, and came down behind Sarah, who had shouldered her gun and started firing into the woods.

                "I'll take Allison and the equipment back to the truck while you two get that bastard," Dan shouted over the fire.

                "What just happened?" Ranma asked her wings still at full size from the jump.

                "Dan thought we were being watched, so he sent Allison out to investigate, and that happened," Sarah said pointing to Allison's semi-conscious  state. "So we're going in."

                Sarah went over to the nearest stone and crouched behind it, "I think those bracers are amps."

                "What?" Ranma asked.

                "Amplifiers, they take residual energy and step up the power.  So you can do chi blasts and other fun stuff."

                Ranma let it pass that she already had that ability. "But what about-"

                Sarah cut him off, "Dan and Allison will be fine. Lets go in."  Sarah then moved to behind a tree.

                Ranma followed her and crouched in the next tree over. "What're we dealing with?"

                "Most likely the same person that imprinted you." 

                The forest had gone silent.  Sarah held her gun ready.  Ranma knew the procedure for forest pursuit.  They both watched, then Ranma saw something.  It was  slight movement about a thousand feet  away.  Ranma pointed it out.

                Sarah motioned, forward and then did a countdown. When only her pointer finger was left they rushed forward, keeping low. 

                Ranma felt something coming; it was fast and dangerous.  She jumped of  to the left, Sarah to the right, just before a large ball of energy impacted.

                Ranma then used her wings to glide back to the right.  She looked over to see Sarah executing a similar maneuver, with her armor's jumpjets.  Sarah was firing at the source of the blast.  Ranma concentrated and tried out the amps.  The etchings on the bracers began to glow red, followed by a thick red beam pouring out of each fist.

                The beams hit the hillock cutting through trees, rocks and blasting into the ground.  They caused massive destruction, obliterating whatever they touched.  Sarah pulled back and landed.  She had her riffle down and was waving Ranma off. She flew over to her sister and landed, this time not falling down.

                "What? Why aren't we going in?" Ranma asked.

                "Because, whoever attacked us is gone," Sarah said, walking to the blast crater.

                Ranma looked down at the bracers.

                "Come over here," Sarah told Ranma.

                Ranma looked into the hole, and saw only charred rock, and bits of metal

                "See.  We were chasing a decoy."

                "Some decoy," Ranma said looking around the forest.

                "Some blast," Sarah said. "I mean this thing's five feet deep."

                "Aren't you worried about them coming at us now?"

                "Not really.  If someone else was here they'd have attacked by now."

                "Oh, So what exactly was that decoy."

                "A remote operated observer armed with a particle cannon.  Quite a feat, only a handful of people in town know how to make one." Sarah changed the subject, "So if you have that kind of power with an amp you must have ungodly skill."

                "That's what I was trying to say, I'm the world's-." Ranma's speech was cut by Sarah's laughing.  "What?"

                "Oh nothing it's just the image of you swooping in, to defend love and justice."

                Ranma glared at her.

                "You really need to lighten up sis," Sarah said. She then activated her jumpjets and flew back to the standing ring.

                "Hey," Ranma shouted, using her wings to fly after Sarah.

                Back in the ring.  Dan was standing guard.  Allison was in the beast resting and checking up on some code, luckily she was only grazed.  Dan saw the twins fly back in. Sarah landed heavily on her boots when the jets cut, while Ranma's landing was more delicate, so as not to fall down on those damned heels.

                "What was it?" Dan asked tracking the edge of the circle.

                "Watcher, decoy drone," Sarah replied.

                "Okay back in the truck." Dan said.

                Once everyone was inside the tuck. Dan reverted back to normal form and initiated pre-start.  After the turbine acquired full velocity Dan pulled away from the circle.  He looked in the review mirror and saw  the twins. "Um can you change back.  Seeing you two next to each other is kinda unsettling."

                Allison turned and looked back, "It's like seeing opposite ends of the spectrum.

                Ranma uncomfortable sitting with those wings, even retracted, was happy to comply.  She concentrated, the red light came, and was back to normal.  She turned to see Sarah back in her green dress and vest.  "Wait," Ranma thought. "Did I just call my girl form normal."  Aloud she asked, "How will the curse interact with my template or whatever you called that thing."

                Allison spoke up, "While I was waiting, I found this strange bit of code.  It's magical in nature, but our compiler can't recognize it.  I fairly sure it's your curse, but it's partially corrupted.  I think I found the activation trigger.  It's the worst off, and I can't fix it."

                "Why?" Ranma asked, as usual more bad news.

                "Each style of magic is a completely different language.  I only know Calash, the one supported by the I/O sphere."

                "Can it be removed?"

                "Yes but, your template needs a female body to work. So technically you're now a girl that has a curse that turns you into a guy."

                "What!" Ranma said, definitely bad news.

                "You can still go back and forth, I think.  It's just that if the curse were removed you be a stuck as girl. You're female body is now your default form.  Don't worry I made a copy of the curse as it is now so if it ever degrades beyond functionally. I can just load the old one in as an update."

                "Um, where are we going?" Sarah asked.

                "The cemetery," Dan said, while driving at his normal speed, which was going as fast as skill and mechanics could allow, and considering the beast had a refurbished helicopter engine and Dan was one of  best drivers in the time zone fast was an amazingly inadequate descriptor.

                "Wait my curse was spring of drowned girl.  If I really turned into a girl, it wouldn't work." Ranma said morbidly.

                "Not really, the curse itself is just a switching mechanism.  It has to do both, go from guy to girl, and from girl to guy.  The only thing gender specific is the installation.  That's why only a guy could get your curse," Allison explained.

                "Does Jack know about templates?" Ranma asked.

                "Oh he knows everything." Sarah said.  "After all he grew up here."

                "But wasn't that before computers,"

                "Yeah he was here during the founding of Calash, but remember the circle had been here since the beginning. So this place has always been weird."

                "So the local law just ignores all this stuff."

                "Law enforcement exits solely to keep the peace.  If  the wrong people on the outside knew about this place then it'll turn into a media circus.  So unless someone really screws up Jack and his deputies won't intervene," Dan said.

                "But he's so busy," Ranma said.

                "Keeping the outsiders in the dark, presenting a semi-normal facade."

                "But he let me come here."

                "Well you are from Nerima," Sarah said.

                "True," Ranma said.

                "We're here," Dan said turning off the engine.

                "Won't the two programs interact badly," Sarah asked getting out of the truck.

                "No, the template takes precedence," Allison said, also out of the beast. "The curse is disabled when the template is in use."

                "What if Ranma's in guy form and shifts to template?" Dan asked smoothing his coat, after exiting the truck.

                That created a rather disturbing mental image for Ranma.

                "Well, the template is design to work with Ranma's girl body and that body alone, so the curse would have to activate first for the template to work," Allison said.

                Dan  and Allison then walked off.  Leaving Ranma alone with Sarah. "Where're they going?" Ranma asked.

                "The graves of his parents," Sarah said. 

                Ranma looked back to see Dan standing in front of two stones, his coat billowing behind him in the light wind. His eyes were covered with dark sunglasses.  He and Allison had their arms wrapped around each other's waists. Ranma turned to see Sarah standing in front of another stone.  Ranma walked up to her.  He knew what the inscription would say: Nodoka O'Neill.

                "Sorry 'bout this," Sarah said.

                "What?" Ranma asked.

                "I mean all this.  Your dad, our mom, your curse, the template, having you stuck out in the middle of nowhere."

                "None of it's your fault."

                "No, I guess not, but look at all the crap that happened to you and you haven't even been here a full day yet."

                "It's nowhere near as bad as the first day in Nerima. I didn't get any fiancées this time."

                "Was it really that bad over there?"

                "Ever hear the phrase 'Alone in a crowd.' "

                Sarah nodded.

                "That's what it was like everyone wanted to kill me, marry me, or use and exploit me.  I was just a trophy to them.  It was  day after day of the same. . ."

                Sarah maintained silence as Ranma spoke.

                ". . . but the worst part was that I egged it on. I wanted the attention. It feed my overblown ego.  I was a loud jerk. It took the death of my father to see this.  Granted he was a complete bastard, but still someone had to die."

                Sarah turned to see Allison and Dan walking back to the truck. "Come on," she said to Ranma.

                "Now where are we going," Sarah asked.

                "To get who did this to Ranma," Dan said driving around blind curve at 70.

                "Didn't you say the template was locked in?" Ranma asked, with feint hope.

                "Yes, but we can still get the key code, and then we could change it to something less--"

                "Girly," Sarah completed.

                "Disturbing," Allison offered.

                Ranma found that appealing that if he could get full access to the template all that magic girl crap could be edited out. "Any suspects?" she inquired.

                "Remember how I said this place attracts people with potential," Sarah said.

                "Yeah."

                "If this place attracts new people then how can it stay a small town?"

                Ranma shrugged.

                "Lock Ridge has a rather low birth rate, about 1.2 children per family, but the influx of new people keeps the population essentially stable. Think about it, Dan's and only child, Allison too, and Dad had only one sister."

                "How does this help us find out who did this?"

                "I was getting to that.  The point is that nearly everyone in Lock Ridge has some magical abilities.  I don't mean the actual writing of the code, anyone can do that, but those that have the potential to be a vessel, people that can actually execute spells.  But fewer people have the skill to write templates, and even fewer can make remote observers and other golem based entities." Sarah turned to Allison, "Find any signatures in the template?"

                "I think so does anyone know the handle 'germ_forge'?" Allison asked

                "I do.  Sean Reno used it a while back," Dan said.

                "That would do it," Sarah confirmed. "Sean's got the skills." 

                Dan nodded and changed course driving back to town.  "Okay, Sean graduated last year. He works for an engineering firm two towns over.  He still lives in town.  So here's the plan we go to his apartment.  Wait for him to come back then-"  Dan's directions were cut when a red Honda drove past him going the other way.  "Or we could just ram his car off the road," Dan said while flipping the beast around in a quick snap.

                "New plan: everyone switch.  Sarah you EPS the car, Allison you disable him, and Ranma provide cover." Dan said accelerating after the Honda.

                The red car, seeing what was chasing it, speed up trying to get away. 

                "Take him out now, I don't want to risk him changing," Dan ordered.

                Sarah shifted lowered and her window.  Aiming her all purpose gun from the future at the car, she fired.  The electron pulse saturation hit the car, temporarily disabling its electronics. Unable to fire its sparkplugs, the small car rolled to a stop. 

                "Hurry before it wears off," Dan said hitting the brakes

                Ranma, about to jump out of the truck, heard Sarah shout, "What the hell are you doing?  Shift. If this goes hot you'll need every little bit." Ranma complied, changing forms and gliding low towards the car.

                "What the hell?" Sean said, looking in the rearview mirror. First that thing starts tailgating him, then an extra from Mech. Warrior kills his car, and  then some type of angel or something flies out looking pissed enough to kill.  Sean opened his door and steeped out, unfortunately he failed to notice the front passenger door to the beast open and close.

                Sean fell over twitching, after being hit with a taser to the back. Allison then appeared in a shower of quicksilver behind him.

                "Good work," Dan said, walking to the body, already in his own template.

                Sean's brain dragged its way back to conciseness. "That's the last time I mix tequila and vodka," he said opening his eyes.   He was met with two angry redheads staring him down. The one in the power armor had her gun pointed at his neck, while the angel girl had a glowing fist over his head. Sean rolled his head back, smacking the pavement. "Damn it, that hurt."

                He looked beyond the twin girls to see a someone who had probably seen The Matrix one too many times, standing next to a normal looking blonde.

                "I suggest you don't move, shift, or do anything else." Dan said.

                "Um what's going on?" Sean said still thinking he had a bad hangover.

                "Recognize this," Dan said, pointing to Ranma.

                Sean looked at the girl, his head clearing up. "Um she's in a template."

                "That you imprinted on her this morning.  We want the edit password." Sarah said, still pointing the weapon at him.

                "Um, no I didn't, and I don't have that."

                "Then where were you?" Dan inquired, skeptically.

                "At work, I was driving home. You can call my boss."

                "No need," Dan said pondering. "But you never answered, have you seen this template?"

                "No man.  Why?"

                The blonde spoke up, "Why then was you sig. in the template Germ_forge?"

                "Um was the sig. Germ_forge.34h9."

                "No it was h12."

                Still laying on the ground Sean said, "I get it.  You see the h12 files weren't mine I just had them archived on my system for a friend,"

                "Who?" Dan asked.

                "Spore."

                "What?" Ranma said.

                "No.  You see Spore was his handle.  I never knew his real name."

                "Then who imprinted?" Dan asked.

                "Either Spore or the hacker."

                "Hacker?"

                "Yeah, a few months ago someone got into my system, the bitch was good. She got all of my H archives."

                "How do you know it was a girl?" Dan inquired.

                "I have my ways," Sean said.

                "Let him go," Allison said.

                "What?" Ranma said.

                "He's telling the truth"

                "So he's just a courier," Dan pondered. "Yup, let him go."

                Sarah backed off.  Ranma tried to but wobbled and almost fell.  Damn heels.  Sean got up, and dusted himself off.  

                "Could you give us all the info you've got on that hacker and Spore?" Sarah asked.

                "Okay, I'll just get it from my laptop," Sean said before realization kicked in. "Crap my files!" Sean said running to his laptop.  He took the computer out of the case and turned it on, or attempted to do so.  Sarah's EPS blast had thoroughly scrambled the hard drives, at least is wasn't an EMP that would have done permanent damage to all the electronics in a half mile radius.  Sean was slightly depressed, "Oh well at least all my critical stuff it at home. Can I e-mail those files to you?"

                "Wait," Ranma said. "You don't mind that we ran car off the road, shocked you, and interrogated you at gunpoint, but your really bummed that your computer's broken."

                "Point being?" Sean said putting his computer back in its case.  "Can I go now?"

                "Sure why not," Allison said.

                Sean got into his car, and turned the ignition. Sarah walked away. "Um you're sure the car will still work right?" Dan asked. "I mean it fired his computer, you told me EPS had no side effects.  You said it would only effect a small area and just temporarily disable."

                Sarah looked into the distance.

                "Please respond,"  Dan stated.

                The sound of a Honda turning over and driving away, was followed by Sarah's response, "Yeah pretty sure."

                Dan put his hand on his forehead and groaned.

                "Wait I'm the one in a skirt but you're the one stressed out," Ranma said.

                "It's just that we're back at square one," Dan said reverting back to normal. "We don't know who did this to you or why, and we still don't have a key."

                Ranma realizing that the operation was over, reverted as well.  Sarah also back in her normal form walked up to her, "Why'd you fly during the intercept," she asked.

                "Those dammed heels don't allow for any speed," Ranma said walking to the truck.

                "I think that's their point," Sarah said going back to the truck.

                Dan got in the truck and started the turbines. "And now where are we going?" Sarah asked.

                "Your house, then back to mine," Dan said.

                "What?" Allison said.

                "Your parents are good people and they trust Jack. They'll let you stay with us for a while."

                "Why?"

                "Someone tried to kill you today.  We need to stay together, all of us."

                "Um wasn't I the one imprinted," Ranma said.

                "Yes, but if we're separated it'll be easier to get us.  Divide and conquer."

                "Do you really think whoever did that to Ranma wants to kill us?" Sarah asked.

                "You fought that golem," Dan said "But the biggest problem is that we don't know anything.  We have no idea who did this or why."

                After stopping at the Allison's house and having a brief argument as to where Allison would sleep.  She normally used the room Ranma currently occupied.  They arrived back at the O'Neill residence.

                "Why do I have to stay in your room, again?" Ranma asked Sarah.  They were both up at the range.  After arriving home, Ranma was relived to find that she still could change back with water, although any attempts to change at will simply activated her template.

                "It would be inappropriate for Allison to stay in Dan's room," Sarah said at the hawk block.

                "Um, can't she turn invisible."

                "Yes I realize the futility of it," Sarah said letting the hatchet go.  It  embedded itself in the wood.

                "So I can practice up here?" he asked looking around.  This was the only flat grassy area on the property

                Sarah walked up to the block and pulled out her hatchet and the knife she had thrown earlier, "Yeah, just be sure to check the flag and then look to make sure no one's up her, and if they are never cross the line," she said pointing to the firing line.

                "Sean send those records awfully fast."

                "Well yeah he doesn't want us to hurt him.  Not that they were very helpful.  All we know now is that Spore's most likely from Germany and that that hacker was REALLY good.  Good enough to change the original template pass codes.  Now as to why some German guy would know Calash, let alone make a template off of our body as still unknown.  Of course that location could be a fake.  But know we have to find two people if we want to get the codes."

                "So we know less than before we got to Sean."

                "Well at least things will be interesting for a while," Sarah said, tossing her knife.

                "Yeah my glass is half full," Ranma said sarcastically.

                "That's the spirit."

Authors note:  Before any "Invisible Man" fans bug me about it yes I know all about quicksilver madness. Allison just hasn't used the gland enough to warrant a shot of counteragent yet. In future chapters she will.

Additional note: EPS (electron pulse saturation) is a fictional weapon taken from "The Precept" by Jack Moody,  it acts similar to an EMP burst, except much more localized.


	3. Technical Support

Chapter 3 - Technical Support

"Nothing's the same anymore." Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

                Ranma awoke in the upper bunk bed.  She glanced over the edge to see Sarah sleeping in the lower bunk.  No one had told Ranma that she needed to sleep in female form. Ranma and Sarah were brother and sister, technically half siblings, but that didn't matter.

                Ranma had lost what had been, for a short time, his room so Allison could sleep there.  It was a symbolic gesture, designed to appease Allison's parents.  If Allison and Dan wanted to get frisky, nothing could really stop them, especially given Allison's ability to turn invisible.

                This bunk bed had a lower bunk running perpendicular to the upper bunk. Ranma jumped off the upper bunk, got dressed, and walked out of the room.  She knocked on the bathroom door. "Just a minute!" Allison shouted over the shower.

                "Never mind," Ranma said then headed down the stairs. 

                Jack was sitting in the living room reading a newspaper. "Hey Ranma," he said without looking up.

                At the foot of the stairs she asked, "How'd you know it was me?"

                "I have my ways," the sheriff said, turning the page.

                "I'm really sick of people saying that."

                "Sorry to hear about your template."

                "Have any suspects," Ranma asked, looking for the downstairs bathroom.

                "Not my jurisdiction."

                "Whoever did this tried to kill us,"

                "Read the town charter," Jack said still reading. "I'll help when the time's right," he said in the grim tone of a man caught between duty and honor.

                Ranma shrugged and went to find the bathroom.  It was adjacent to the den, near the kitchen, and tucked away.  Ranma tried the faucets first.  She managed to change back with hot water.  Her curse seemed to have stabilized, at least for now, and was back to the standard triggers.

                Ranma exited the bathroom and went into the kitchen.  Dan was sitting at the table.  He had a pot of coffee in front of him, with a straw sticking out.  The pot was half gone and he had a glazed look to his eyes. 

                Actually Ranma wasn't sure, considering he'd never seen Dan when he wasn't sleeping, pulling an all-nighter, or looked half baked. 

                "Hey it's the Ran-Man," Dan said before falling face first on the table. "Ouch," he said in a little too mellow voice.

                Sarah wearing slacks, a blouse, and her vest walked into the room, took a swig of coffee, then put the pot back down. "You are an idiot," she said slowly to her cousin, then turned to Ranma. "We're going to have some problems unless we can get wonder boy here to wake up," she said pointing to Dan's now sleeping form.

                "What did he do?" Ranma asked.

                "He just stayed up all night getting a project essay done, but that's not the worst of it, if he can't drive us to school. . ." Sarah trailed off when Allison entered the room.

                Allison done with bathing and had dressed in her normal clothes, that is to say, revealing yet not cheap.  Well not _t­­hat cheap. "You know, Dan, you shouldn't do this every night. It's bad for you-" Allison's stern lecture fell short when she realized what Dan's present state meant. She stopped looked at her sleeping boyfriend then at the coffee pot, and then ran out of the room._

                Ranma heard the garage door slam shut. "Is she really that bad?" he asked, not wanting to know the answer.

                "Worse. It's not that she can't drive, actually yes it is. I mean she's almost a good as Dan is when it comes to mechanics, but put her in the driver's seat, and well -" Sarah rambled off. 

                "So what do we do?"

                "You can't stop her...  unless _you want to try."_

                Ranma remembered the maniacal glint Allison possessed, "Um, not particularly."  He then looked at Dan's comatose body, "So what do we do with him?"

                "Help me drag him to the Beast."

***************

                Dan woke up.  He felt nauseous and had a splitting headache.  It almost felt as if his brains were being ground up. Wait, that wasn't his brains. It was his truck. OH NO.

                Dan bolted up, or tried to; he was secured in the front passenger seat by his belt. "Allison," he said grinding his teeth. "Why are you driving my truck? You know I love you but, YOU DO NOT DRIVE MY TRUCK!"

                Dan unclipped his belt and lunged over to pull the key out when it hit him.  The truck sounded normal, a bit strained, but normal and otherwise fine. "Um sorry, but when did you start to drive competently?"

                "Oh that," Allison said shifting into a higher gear, "I've been practicing at my parents house."

                Dan nodded.   Allison was driving a bit slow, only twenty over the speed limit, but she had shifted into the right gear, and was handing the Beast reasonably well. Considering the engine under the hood of the black tuck, that was an accomplishment for even a normal driver, let alone Allison. "Why'd they let you drive?  I mean you're a great mechanic, but you backed into a tree." Dan paused then added, "Repeatedly."

                Meanwhile, Ranma was relaxing in the back.  Allison was still going way too fast, but at least they had yet to go airborne.

                Sarah was sitting next to Ranma working on a laptop. She was humming.

                "What are you doing?" Ranma asked.

                "Researching on Spore," she replied.

                "Oh the German guy who wrote my template."

                "That's the one," she said then resumed humming. "Except he's not German."

                "Huh?"

                "I traced back those files that Sean was storing.  The German account was just that, another account, another storage site." Sarah then hummed a few more bars, "So I searched the billing list as to who paid for the drive space."

                "Who?" Ranma inquired, pondering the song.  It was vary familiar.

                "A Japanese software company."

                "Oh crap."

                "Yup!  seems like one of your old 'pals' has a sick sense of humor."

                "The software company may be just another shell," Dan said, watching Allison drive.

                "Too much of a coincidence," Sarah said then started humming again.

                Ranma nodded. That song was really getting annoying. It almost sounds like the opening to. . . .

                "Hey!" Ranma said indignant.

                "Took you long enough," Sarah said grinning.

                "Isn't that the theme song to Sailor Moon?" Allison asked.

                "Eyes on the road," Dan warned.

                Ranma fumed.

                "Lighten up. I mean you can hum the theme to Mech Warrior."

                "Or the Matrix."

                "Or Invisible Man."

                "Or the Terminator."

                "Or Stargate."

                "Yeah, but you guys chose your templates and you can still edit yours," Ranma said.

                "True.  That does suck." Sarah said.

                "But a least you've got some serious power," Dan said.

                "You can fly too," Allison added.

                Ranma grumbled.

***************

                The Beast pulled into the school parking lot. "Very good," Dan said as Allison put the truck into park and pulled out the keys.  Getting out of the truck, he said, "Okay Allison and I have all of our classes together, and you two have all of yours together," Dan told Ranma and Sarah also out of the truck.

                "So did you get put ahead a year?" Ranma asked. After all he was a year older.

                "Not exactly," Sarah said grabbing her pack and starting to walk to school.

                Ranma thought about this, "I got sent back a year?"

                "Yeah. Despite coming from a school that you had to take an entrance exam to get into, the administration here decided to drop you back.  They had some points. Our school years start at different times. It also seems that your grades weren't all that hot. Then again, they could have done it just because they could. I mean, there's this one VP that's a real pain." Dan said flatly.

                "Well it's not that I couldn't do the work. I just don't care," Ranma responded.

                "You're preaching to the choir," Dan said.

                Ranma approached the door to the school, "Wait, the hacker that did this to me is most likely a student here right?"

                "That's why I'm suggesting we stay in teams of two," Dan said approaching the door.

***************

                The Lady in Shadows sat in the student lounge working.  This time, she was not alone.  About a dozen other students were in the lounge, most of them working on laptops similar to hers.  A few even had I/O spheres out.  She had hers set on long range scan.

                It started when she replayed what the golem sent out before being destroyed. She found that Sarah's twin was named Ranma, and when she correlated it with school records, she found a Ranma, but this person was male.

                Further examinations of the broadcast, revealed two things: first, in the hands of a skilled user, that template was very powerful; second her toy had some other programs.  The conversation in the standing circle refereed to a sex changing curse.  She then researched the name they had used: Jusenkyou.  Apparently it was a water triggered curse.

                This made the repercussions of the imprint even more amusing.  The intentions of the Lady in Shadows were not that malicious  If Ranma ever got the decryption key, he'd have a good chance of removing a good part of the code.  

                Wizards and such are generally a laid back bunch, but they suffer from the same malady of immortals and other beings of power, boredom.  So they spend their time finding activities that they find interesting or entertaining.

                Granted the lady does have sick sense of humor and that she'll play puppet master just for a few laughs doesn't mean she's evil. Wait yes, yes it does, but at least she's no megalomaniac demon from an alternate dimension bent on global domination.

                Given her intentions, what she did to the school's computer system was no surprise, even though it was a simple trick.

***************

                Ranma was following Sarah, walking towards the doors when he heard something.  A familiar noise, the sound of sprinklers about to go off. Ranma tried to dodge, but for some reason he could never dodge water very well whether it was from a ladle, puddle, or sprinkler.

                Jets of water came out covering the lawn and a certain martial artist.  From inside the foyer Dan and Allison watched Ranma get soaked. "Ranma wasn't kidding when he said he was a water magnet," she commented.

                Dan nodded.

                Sarah was standing by the door, "Come on in," she told Ranma.

                Ranma walked in completely soaked. Her shirt was quite clingy. She was grumbling something.

                "That was odd," Sarah said.

                "Nah it's just my curse. This kind of crap always happens to me."

***************

                From the guardrail of the student lounge, Ned Winston saw Sarah O'Neil enter the school followed by a soaking wet girl that looked just like her. He then walked up to the lady in shadows, "Hey Rebecca, you know Sarah had a twin?"

                Rebecca looked up from her laptop, "Heard she's her long lost sister from Japan,"

                Ned nodded, "Makes sense.  I mean, Sarah is half Japanese. Although the sprinklers seemed to have hit her, odd." 

                Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Ned.

                "Yes fine, that wasn't that odd at all.  It was probably just a prank," Ned, sensing awkwardness, grabbed his bag and left the lounge.

                Rebecca sighed.  The only reason she put up with Winston at all was his ability to create golems; magically enhanced robots.  Ned had that right mix of programming talent and engineering aptitude to excel in the field. They had worked out a little agreement, he gave her the occasional bot and she kept him supplied with certain hard to find raw materials.

***************

                "Well this sucks," Ranma said still in female form.

                "What?" Sarah asked leading him to the next class.

                "Let's see - a good portion of the school saw me transform."

                "I don't think so. I was standing right at the doors and I didn't see anyone out there, and no one from the lounge could see where you were standing."

                "True," Ranma said pondering. "So now what?"

                "You should just go on in."

                Ranma looked at the knob. Inhaled, grabbed and turned. She stepped into a classroom. At lest she though it was one.  Her experience with classrooms were close to the rigid grid of desks that dated back to the fifty's.  This room had a white board that ran along one wall, a cluttered teacher's desk in a corner, a bunch of chairs and tables in the center of the room, and running the other three walls were numerous computer stations.

                The teacher, a well rested looking middle aged man, walked up to the near twins. "I'm Mr. Jones and you must be the new girl Ranma," he said, and then wandered back to his desk.

                "Um, yeah." Ranma said unsure.  "What's going on here?" she whispered to her sister.

                "Most of the teachers are pretty laid back.  I mean they have to be.  They're teaching a bunch of people that have some pretty heavy powers.  The only way you can stay sane around here is to go with the flow.  But Jones is the most apathetic; then again he's been here the longest out of the entire staff."

                "No, not that.  Why did he call me a girl?"

                "There is the family resemblance," Sarah suggested.

                "No, that's not it.  We'd have different last names on the roster, yet he knew mine" Ranma had a bad feeling about this.

                "Um, the records could be wonky.  Come on let's sit down," Sarah said leading Ranma to a computer station in the back.

                Ranma saw about an eighteen other students, most of whom were asleep. He then sat down in a seat next to Sarah, who had just turned on one of the computers.

                Mr. Jones shuffled to the front of the room.  "Alright class. Come on you lazy bastards, I only require you to listen to me once a day, so Wake Up!" he said clenching his teeth.

                About a third of the class woke up blinked at Mr. Jones and fell back asleep; the rest maintained consciousness, but were apathetic and slothful.

                "Close enough," Mr. Jones muttered. Then in a dry monotone "Anyway your projects are due Friday, not that any of you care. We have a new student.  The damp one next to Sarah. That's it. I'll be sleeping." He then shuffled to his chair, put his feet on his desk and went to sleep.

                Ranma found this surprising.  She never had a teacher that did not at least pretend to care.  She looked at the rest of the class. Some were still sleeping, while the others had shifted to computers.  "What's with this place?"

                "Nearly all the classes here are self paced," Sarah said. "It would be a futile to try and force any of us to do daily work. Even the people with limited potential and skill are too independent to be 'normalized' by public school. This must be really weird considering the uniform wearing, teacher respecting, hard work grinding, and pointless task completing regimenting of Japanese schools."

                "That's an extreme interpretation."

                "But an accurate one. Right?"

                Ranma shrugged, he turned to see a girl standing behind her. She was rather average with long brown hair pulled back in a lose braid.

                "Hey Sarah?" she asked. "I didn't know you had a twin," she said gesturing at Ranma.

                "Ranma's not my twin Julie," Sarah said typing, "Technically, she's my half brother."

                "Huh?" Julie said, confused by the conflicting pronouns.

                "We share a mother.  You see when his father died, he moved over here. Now the reason he looks like, well, me is that he's got this weird curse."

                "Oh is it a virus or corrupt coding?"

                "I think it's a little of both, although it wasn't written in Calash."

                "Have you tried removing it?"

                "Oh the uninstall is easy, but it won't be taken out right now."

                "Alright then," Julie said then walked off.

                "It's not that I don't mind it, but no one's freaked out by the curse," Ranma said slightly confused.

                "Granted there aren't too many sex altering applets floating around, but a couple of people have them."

                "So what class is this?"

                "Um - English?"

                "Wait - you don't know?" Ranma asked.  God, the teachers were lax here, which is a good thing.

                "Well all he does is give us long range writing projects, and then grades them ruthlessly."

                Ranma shook her head.

                 "So why don't you get some hot water?"

                "My clothes are still wet.  I'll just change right back."

                "Yes, I see," Sarah said looking at Ranma's shirt. "You really should wear a bra when you're in that form."

                Ranma glared at her sister.

                "Sorry, but I've got 'em too."

***************

                Rebecca checked the remote connection to her O/I sphere.  She linked the device to what used to be a cell phone and made a wireless connection between it and her laptop.  She didn't want to leave the sphere alone, but she had to distance herself from her toy, and the work she planned was far too precise for the sphere's long range broadcast settings.

                When she found out about her toy's curse, she began making a little upgrade for Ranma's template.  Part of it was a program she had used before and required only minimal editing to suit her needs. The rest was a little set of programs she picked up, but had yet to test.  Rebecca even found a way to compensate for the fact that the template could not function at all when Ranma was male.

                Now all she had to do was wait.

***************

                Ranma grumbled.  She was once again female.  Just before lunch her clothes had dried enough to allow her to switch back, and then when they walked back from a restaurant near the school, the sprinklers hit him again.

                At least students were allowed to eat off school grounds. Ranma sighed pulling at her damp again clothes.  Tomorrow, she would bring another set to change into. "So this is the physics room."

                "Yup," Sarah replied working on a miniature Tesla coil.

                Ranma looked around the room.  Half the class was helping the teacher, a black-suited Mr. Smith, build some sort of contraption, while the rest of the class built other smaller machines. White boards were covered with descriptions of Gaussian surfaces, Ampereian loops, and other things that Ranma didn't understand. The room looked very much like a mad scientist's lair or a least a slightly perturbed grad student's lab.

                During lunch, Sarah checked the school records and found out that someone had changed Ranma's sex to female.  Sarah remarked that this was another prank done by the same person that imprinted Ranma. Sarah fixed the settings, but considering how easy is was to get in the records, it could be switched back rather easily.

                Ranma was bored and tired.  All she wanted to do was take a little nap, and for once in her scholarly career, no one would stop her. Ranma put her head down on the workbench and fell asleep.

                "Ranma give me some more copper wire," Sarah said.  When she failed to get a response, she looked over to see her sister fast asleep.

                "Fine, be that way." Sarah went back to work.

                A few minutes later she stopped, and walked out to go to the bathroom.

***************

                Rebecca observed all this from the security camera she compromised.  Her patience had paid off. Ranma was asleep and would be unaware of the edit, and Sarah, who might have been able to tell something was amiss, was out of the room.

                Being in study hall, she had no concerns of being interrupted, but she had to act fast.  She linked the sphere to Ranma's template, and got the standard: "Program locked. Please enter edit code or software will be read only."

                Rebecca typed in "noops_wraith_alpha_coMSYS_threve_56," and gained full access to the template.  She then loaded her upgrade package which self extracted into the template.  After checking to see that the installation was successful, she went into the template's history and deleted any record of the installation.  She wanted it to look like the new code had always been there. Included in the package were some power limiters.  Now if it looked like her toy was about to find and attack her, Rebecca had a way to remedy that situation. 

                Satisfied with her work, Rebecca disconnected with the template.  She would pick up her sphere after school.  She continued to watch through the secure-cam to see how much extra time she had, before Sarah returned or Ranma awoke.  It was about two minutes.

***************

                Sarah came back into the class room to see Ranma still asleep. "Lazy fool," she said, sitting back down and going back to work on her Tesla coil.

***************

                Sean Reno was at his computer, trying to contact Spore.  He had some rather bad news.  Sean knew that this was the chat room that Spore normally hung around.  All he had to do was wait.

***************

[Spore has signed on @ 15:23 GMT]

Spore: hello forge

Germ_Forge: y34h \/\/e h4v3 t0 t4[k 

Spore: damn man dont go into that l33t crap now

Germ_Forge: sorry can we talk in private

[5 users have been removed from discussion group]

Spore: Remember this is my domain

Germ_Forge: true

Spore: what do you have to say

Germ_Forge: remember the hacker that stole those files i was storing for you

Spore: yes

Germ_Forge: that bitch imprinted this new girl

Spore: so

Germ_Forge: she and her friends are pissed

Spore: so

Germ_Forge: they are looking for you and the hacker

Spore: so they do not know where i am

Germ_Forge: neither do I but you should be prepared

Spore: true okay give me a description

Germ_Forge: japanese girl about 16 short well endowed with bright red hair and she's got a twin sister

[30 seconds pass without a response]

Germ_Forge: spore whats wrong

Spore: describe the template

Germ_Forge: short skirt  ribbons and bows  angel wings

Spore: not good

Germ_Forge: what

Spore: i have to go now but we will talk later

***************

                Gosunkugi Hikaru disconnected from the forum, and looked at his monitor blankly.

                "Well you're screwed," a girl's voice said.

                Gosunkugi turned to his other computer monitor. On the screen was a girl that looked about his age.  She had dark blue, medium length hair and was wearing black tights, a black blouse, and a short chainmail skirt.  She was an extremely lifelike 3d rendering.

                "Thanks for pointing out the obvious Erika."

                "Why did you make all those templates in the first place?  I mean Shampoo, Akane, Ukyou, Ranma's girl side. Oh wait - I see," the computer generated girl glared at the pale teen.

                "It's not like I have any magical skills. I mean, look at how pathetic I was with voodoo."

                "But you're actually good with Calash; some of those were almost fully functional templates."

                "With Calash, anyone can write the programs, but only a select few can actually execute them.  I have no latent potential, so I thought they'd never be used.  They were just practice."

                "But you made me," Erika offered.

                "No I didn't.  All I did was hack into and link, the best experimental AI's. You were just a fluke."

                "But here I am," Erika said pointing to herself.

                "No, the only thing 'here' is you input/output feed and your graphical interface.  The rest of 'you' is still on over a dozen campuses and corporate labs.  The only reason you haven't been taken apart yet is that you've hidden your existence to your true creators."

                "But I can pass any turning test and am the culmination of the top minds in artificial intelligence."

                "But all I did was highjack their work."

                "So you're a really good hacker that made a simulated girlfriend," Erika said.

                "That's too creepy is it?"

                "Well not creepy.  Is pathetasad a word?" Erika offered.

                "I don't know.  Is sarcastabitch a word?"

                Erika laughed "Okay fine.  So what do we do about Ranma?"

                "Well, you try to find out why he left, and where he is now."

                "Why don't you ask his friends?"

                "Um, at school I'm considered the quiet background person.  They'd get real suspicious if I started asking where Ranma was considering that they have yet to find him."

                "And what'll you do?"

                "I'll get as much as I can about that hacker."

                "Why do you trust that drunk?"

                "What?"

                "When I found out about Germ Forge, I traced back to his real name, then did a government search on him."

                "And what did you find out?"

                "Drunken disorderly."

                "So?"

                "He's a bad person."

                "Look Erika, he's my friend. He was the one how gave me an I/O sphere and the Calash compiler."

                "And why did he do this?" she asked skeptically.

                "Well, I cleared up some tax problems he had."

                "I told you he was bad news."

                "Why don't you like him?"

                "He let someone get in to his system and take files he was watching for a friend."

                "That wasn't his fault."

                "Yes it was."

                Gosunkugi sighed.  It wasn't like their own systems were totally secure. That was one of the reasons he had moved some of his archives to Forge's servers.  "Look, I think I've got a plan, but we need more information."

                "All right I'll do it."

                "That's my girl."

                "I thought you said I wasn't real."

                "That's part of my plan too."

                Erika looked quizzically at Gosunkugi.

***************

                "So what do you think of school?" Sarah asked while she was getting ready for bed.

                "It's good, but weird.  I mean everything is a long term project," Ranma said, striping down to her boxers and a t-shirt.

                "Yeah, but don't think it's not hard.  It's real easy not to do your project until the last moment, like Dan does," Sarah said getting into bed. "And you still don't have to sleep as a girl."

                "I know, but it seems weird to sleep in a girl's room as a guy."

                "Eh, Lockridge is pretty easy going by modern standards, don't worry about it." Sarah said.              "Hum," Ranma said, not listening.

                "What?"

                "Ever think that Spore and that hacker are in cahoots, or even the same person?  I mean it's way to convenient that someone from Japan makes a template of my girl, side then stores that template with someone who just happens to live in Lockridge."

                "You may have a point.  We'll check it out tomorrow," Sarah said turning off the lights, "Goodnight Ranma"

                "Yeah, night," Ranma said, quickly falling asleep. Rebecca's supplemental programming activated, and the dreams began.

[End Chapter 3]

Author's Note: This is a short chapter; it's mostly setup for the next one.

Very Special thanks to Joe Fenton, who has been instrumental in the revision of the first half of Generation Lost.  I would also like to point out my rage against the evils of the comma.


	4. Resource Conflict

Chapter 4 - Resource Conflict

"Commander Sinclair is being reassigned." Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

                Nabiki watched as Gosunkugi left the central offices.   Only this morning had her sources told her about his imminent transfer.  The little twerp had been acting very suspicious lately.   Ever since – well Ranma's disappearance- he had changed from a quite spineless, creepy guy into a quite self-assured, creepy guy.  It was as if he had a piece of steel buried deep inside him that had just begun to surface.

                Nabiki did not like this at all.  First Ranma's disappearance created a power vacuum that destabilized almost all of her operations and now the spooky boy is getting ready to split also.   As she walked up to him she noticed his shirt.  It was a black shirt, that had the English characters "Evil L33t" in a crude scrawl.   He was also wearing a pair of kakis pants.

                "Hello Gos, aren't you worried about uniform violations?" she asked.

                Gosunkugi smiled slightly, "Not really as I'm sure you know today is my last day here."

                "Yes," Nabiki said pausing. The geek definitely had something up his sleeve but what? And what the hell was L-thirty-three-T? "I didn't know student exchange programs were set up on the fly like that."

                "Oh. I had the paperwork on my desk for weeks.  It's just getting filled in now," he said looking at his watch.

                "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" she asked getting irritated he was hiding something, something big.

                "And who would I tell?" Gos said, with a slight grin, "After all I don't really have any friends."  He then started to walk away.

                When his back was to her, she said almost casually, "You know it rains an awful lot in Seattle." 

Gos stopped at this and turned around looking blank.  "Gotcha" Nabiki thought.  "Now I wonder why you'd be going to a school there," she said aloud.

                "So you think I somehow hacked into the record systems of over a dozen different networks, just to get to a rainy city." Gos said with that smile, which was almost a smirk, back on his face.

                "I think there'd be more than a few people interested in this little 'trip' of yours"

                "Brilliant move, get a bunch of violent, obsessed loons frenzied up on some circumstantial evidence and point them in my direction." Gos said sarcastically, "You know the Kunos and the Amazons might be desperate enough to fall for that one.  But I wouldn't…." He said trailing off.

                "And why is that?"

                Gos looked past her, off into the distance, then spoke, "Funny thing about bank accounts they don't actually hold the money.  They just keep track of how much you have. Don't you find that interesting, I mean if someone were to alter the records why that would be devastating." Gos gave that little smile again. "Fortunately there are safeguards that prevent that from happening.  Now that everything has been taken care of here.  I must go."  Gos said as he turned and left Furinkan for the last time, leaving Nabiki confused, angry and beginning to plot.

                Ranma's eyes opened, noticing first her current gender and that she was in a blue dress similar to one she had seen Sarah wearing.  Surrounding her in a rough circle was a thick bank of shadows, limiting her visibility to a few feet.  She then detected movement just outside the circle, it was a vague human shape.

                The form then coalesced, into Genma, her father.  "Look at you I'm gone for little over a month and you revert to this," he said pointing at the dress.

                "What the hell are you talking about?" Ranma asked ignoring the unreality.

                "I raised you to be a man among men."

                "You fucking bastard you didn't raise me at all.  You kidnapped me," Ranma growled.

                "Her influence would have been counterproductive." Genma stated.

                "So when you found she wouldn't let you disappear off into the night, you got her out of the way."

                "You should show more respect for you father."

                "Respect has to be earned," a new voice said. Ranma turned to see someone she'd only seen  pictures of.

                "Filthy woman," Genma said to his ex-wife. "Look at what you've done, and after all I did for you."

                "What I've done?" Nodoka exclaimed. "I was dead long before you.  And I guess I should applaud you for keeping me in line."

                "You deserved everything you got."

                "And when I almost had a miscarriage?"

                Ranma watched her dead parents fight.  The rational part of her brain knew that her subconscious was creating this dream based on the dossier that lawyer had given her.  While it was never explicitly said Genma beat his wife, medical records showed that Nodoka had a large number of "falling accidents."

                "That was your plan from the beginning; use a loony to get your heir.  She'd be vulnerable enough to push around and if not she can always be committed."

                "Bitch, I should have taken care of you long ago," Genma said raising his first.

                Nodoka quickly reached behind her back, drew, and double-tapped two slugs into his chest.  She then turned to her daughter, "That should have been done years ago."

                Ranma looked at her father's corpse.  Last time she saw it, it had to be drug out of a forest.  She then looked back at her mother.

                "Ranma we have much to talk about," Nodoka said after holstering her gun.

                A part of Ranma felt that something was wrong; that the dream( it had to be a dream) was off.  That there was some sort of interference, but these feelings were quickly overridden .

                After passing through customs Gos ducked into a bathroom.  A few minutes later a girl with blue hair boarded a domestic flight.  Her ID was quite legitimate and matched the credit card used to pay for the domestic flight.  She was listed as 18 year old Erika Berkley born in Boston, Massachusetts, although in reality she was much younger.  Her plane's destination was Casper Wyoming.

                Ranma woke up suddenly, almost hitting her head on the low ceiling that hovered over the bunk bed.  She looked around the room seeing about half a dozen stuffed heads.  The glass eyes of the hunting trophies stared back at her.  She then looked down to see her sister on the computer. 

                Ranma couldn't quite make out what she was doing but the sounds of sporadic gunfire told her that it was some sort of game.

                "Mission Failure, a hostage has been killed," a voice from the computer said.

                Sarah pounded her first on the desk while shouting, "Damn it Dan!  Stop being a fucking spawn muncher."

                "There's no respawning in Rogue Spear," Dan shouted from the other side of the wall.

                "Yes but there is an insertion point and an extraction point."

                "So?"

                "So you just sit there and shoot up my team when the mission starts and then snipe the hostages just when I'm about to get them to safety."

                "Look all I'm doing is playing my best."

                Ranma squinted trying to adjust to the arguing cousins.

                Sarah tuned around noticing her sister was awake, "Oh sorry sis."

                If Ranma had been slightly more conscious she would have been annoyed by the comment.

                "Sis?" Allison asked from the same room.

                "Yeah for some reason she insisted on sleeping that way," Sarah said while planning the next mission. "I don't know might be a Japanese thing."

                Again if Ranma had been listening she would have objected, but right now she was trying to remember a dream she had last night.  She knew both her parents were in it, but everything else was fuzzy.

                "Wait a minute," Sarah said. "What are you doing in there Allison?"

                "Um well I'm.." Dan's girlfriend trailed off.

                "Allison?" Sarah asked, then repeated her name slightly louder.

                "She just stepped out," Dan yelled back.

                Sarah heard the door click open then fall shut. When she turned around she didn't see anyone else.  She then saw the closet door slide open. "Allison I know you're in here."

                Ranma looked down from her bed.  She could just make out some quicksilver shimmering from inside the closet.

                After the plane landed in Casper, Erika waited in the tarmac.  She had a vague description of what Germ Forge looked like and waited for him to pick her up.

                Sean was nervous as he walked into the tarmac.  Until a few days ago he had a semi-normal life as a programming engineer, hacker, and resident of Lockridge, but then his car was attacked by a bunch of, scifi loons (well Sean couldn't really judge them after all he had a template too), and now one of his long time contacts was asking to meet him in person, and then crash at his apartment.  Sean did not like this, one of the cardinal rules of hacking was to never meet a contact in real life.  It was considered to be a security risk.  But Sean owed Spore and was obligated to help.

                Another thing that irked him was that Spore knew that he looked like, but Sean had no idea what Spore looked like.  All he had was a time and a terminal.  As he walked around the concourse, he caught movement from the corner of his eye.  He turned to see a girl maybe  16 or 17, Japanese with a blue dye job.  Sean noted she was wearing a short chainmail skirt over a black leotard or something, that fit her nicely.

                "Did you see CNN last night?" she asked.

                Sean kept his face neutral that was the first part of the authorization code.  "Yeah the President gave a press conference," he replied

                "Was the attorney general with him?" she inquired.

                That's part two, Sean noted. "Yeah, but I think the last one was better?"

                "You mean Reno?" she said, smiling.

                "Hello, Spore.  I thought you were a guy," putting out his hand

                "Um kinda." Erika replied tentatively shaking his hand after a static shock.

                Sean raised an eyebrow at this.

                "Look I'll explain on the ride over."

                "Right," Sean said walking back to his car.

                After pulling the nozzle out of his now full tank Dan walked into the Quick Stop.  He saw Allison talking to the two clerks. "All I'm saying is that the workers on the deathstar in Jedi, knew what they were getting into. I mean you're taking a risk when you work for the evil empire."

                The one with the goatee turned to the one in the hat, "See I told you Randal."

                "Yeah, yeah, yeah, same thing that roofer said."

                "Hey Dante," Dan said walking up next to his girlfriend. "Pump number 2"

                "Right," he said taking Dan's debit card.

                "Isn't it your day off?" Dan asked.

                Dante just slumped his head on the counter.

                "Cheer up, at least here you don't have to deal with burn boy and lunchbox." Allison said leaving.

                "I can't believe you got them to do that," Dan said after exiting the door.

                "I had to take a hit of counteragent though," Allison pointed out.

                "We've got to fix that damn gland," Dan commented.

                "As long as I'm careful," Alison said showing the small, currently green, Ouroboros tattooed to her wrist.

                "You won't go crazy," Dan observed opening the driver's door to the Beast. After getting into his seat he turned to see the two glaring redheads.  When Allison entered one of them started to growl.  After examining her face, Dan was surprised to see that it was Sarah.

                "You will die very slowly," Sarah grumbled, while Ranma seemed to have zoned out.

                "How the hell did you get them both in Catholic schoolgirl uniforms?" Dan asked.

                Allison smiled, "Lets just say it took a lot of quicksilver."

                "Why?" Ranma asked.

                "Glad to see you're with us again," Dan said. "But still why did you do that?  I mean do you have a thing for that stuff."

                "Are you interested?" Allison smiled.

                "Maybe later," Dan said pulling his truck onto the road.

                "As for why I did it these were the only clothes Sarah had more than one set of."

                "Well it's your damn fault I even have these things." Sarah said.

                "Huh?" Ranma inquired, slightly more coherent.

                "You see before the beginning of the school year Allison convinced Sarah, that our high school was switching to uniforms." Dan said turning down another road. "I still don't know how you did that," he told Allison.

                The blonde just smirked.

                "Why the hell do you keep playing this stuff," Erika asked while Sean drove down Route 220 South to Lamont.

                "Wait I thought you were from Boston," Reno said moving into the right lane.

                "So?"

                "This is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. You know the Boston based, Ska band."

                "Oh, well I spent most of my time at MIT," Erika replied.

                "I though you were 18?" Sean said.

                "Yes, well I had many older friends," Erika fumbled.

                "Of course," Sean said, before pulling the car off onto the shoulder. He then shut the car off, pulled the keys out and slipped out the door.

                Erika turned to see him leaning against the guardrail. "What's going on?" she asked standing next to him.

                "See that ridge of mountains we're about to pass through." Sean said pointing to a range of peaks a few miles down the road.  Erika nodded.  "You know what the continental divide is right.  Well that range is a little bubble in the line. Called the Great Divide Basin, it's a region three and a half thousand square miles in size, where rainwater drains in neither ocean.  Lockridge is inside it."

                "Point being?"

                "Spore was the better hacker, I mean he did do that little IRS thing for me, and apparently he's the better coder…" Sean said trailing off.

                Erika looked over at Sean, her face questioning.

                "Don't be so naïve, you think he could obtain the holy grail of computing and keep it a secret." Sean said.

                "Now my question is, if I ran your prints whose would I get."

                "It wouldn't matter," Erika responded.

                "True we both know how mutable record banks are." Sean said, fiddling with his keys.

                "So now what?"

                "You tell me what the hell's been going on," Sean said, hoping that the explanation would answer something.

                Entering the student lounge Rebecca spotted Winston at his laptop.  Ned appeared to be engrossed in his game, although that his I/O sphere was plugged in seemed odd. "God, did you spend all night playing that game?" she said noticing the dark rings under his eyes and the large cappuccino sitting next to his comp.  If she had not spent all night up working herself, she would have noticed the small necklace Ned was wearing.

                "Yeah so," Winston said, pausing Max Payne.  "It looks like you've stayed up too."

                Sitting down at the chair across from Winston, she spoke "Yeah, I was watching this weird show, Voltron, I think it's called."

                Ned nodded before returning to his laptop.

                "Damn,"  Dan said pulling into the school's  lot. "I hate the parking in this place."

                "You know the front lot fills up quick." Alison stated searching for a space, "I mean that's why we get here so early, normally."

                "Well we would have been here earlier if you hadn't had your fun," Dan said as he drove past the building and into the lot behind the sports fields.

                "So what?  We walk a few extra minutes."

                Dan shrugged, and pulled the beast into an open space.  Getting out he looked back at the school sitting in the distance.

                Rebecca's eyebrow raised. Interesting, all the pieces were in place, but the plan was still vague.   Lately she had just been doing what seemed most amusing but this was not ideal for the long term.  Even last night's work had been spontaneous.  It had happened after looking at the data from the standing circle and some schematics Ned had sold her.

                She sighed and activated the program. Knowing the most likely outcome, but considered the loss of a prototype worth the potential intelligence.   Hearing Ned packing his computer, Rebecca looked up. "Leaving so soon?  But class isn't for ten minutes."

                Putting on a leather jacket that went to mid thigh, Winston slipped the laptop into a harness style pocket.  Bearing a strange likeness to a large holster, it allows heavy or bulky objects to be stored and concealed. "Yeah I've got some stuff I need to do." He said walking out of the lounge.

                Rebecca shrugged and went back to her computer.

                "This really sucks," Ranma said, glaring at her short, plaid pleated-skirt.

                "Yes, and since neither of us has gym this semester, we have nothing to change into," Sarah said walking next to her sister. "Well played," she said to Alison.

                "I try my best," Alison responded looking back into the wooded foothills behind the school.

                "What?" Dan asked.

                "Huh?  Nothing, just thought I saw something."

                Leaving the second floor bathroom, Ned looked out the window seeing four people walking across the soccer field. Looking past them he spotted a familiar shimmer at the base of the tree line. 

He watched as the shimmer gained definition and started to move. "Oh fuck," Ned said looking at his necklace.

                "So you study for you're chemistry test today," Sarah asked Ranma.

                "I'll do fine, I guess," Ranma said, then hearing breaking glass looked up. "What the…"

                "Fuck it," Ned said just before jumping through the window.  Landing on the first floor roof, he proceeded to run off it.  Hitting the ground in a roll, Winston jumped up, swallowing the contents of a pill bottle while running. "At least that part works," he thought after noticing his sustained damage diminish.

                "Get into your templates." Ned shouted pulling out his grenade launcher.

                Dan shifted into his template, pulling out his guns, "Winston what the fuck's going…"

                Ned fired.  The shell was lobbed over the four teens and into an empty area of the back lot.   It hit the ground, sending out a fireball followed by a small shockwave.  Both seemed to be deflected by a rather large invisible object.

                Now in her power armor, Sarah detected the anomaly faintly.  Allison had also shifted, her clothing changed into a set of fatigues, boots, and some sort of large gun.  Going with the flow, Ranma changed too, entering her template. "I hate this thing," Ranma growled now wearing a school uniform, fuku style, much worse than the one Allison had forced her into.

                Standing on high-heeled boots she clenched her hand, her now long and painted, fingernails digging into her palms; the runes in her braces starting to glow.  She could feel the jewelry, the pieced ears, how her hair had been changed, but most of all her wings.  She could feel through them, even in their compact form where they were just little angel wings.  Ranma started to grind her teeth.

                "Um sis?" Sarah asked, just before Ranma screamed, extended her wings to their full state, and jumped up into the air.

                Something from the distortion became visible.  Containing several slits on the face of it, the thing resembled the end of an arm.   What seemed to be a stream of an almost liquid metal shot out of the slits at Ranma. Pulling her wings back she dropped into a dive right at the thing, firing right at the streams in thick red rays from her bracer-amps. When cut, the unattached lines of metal fell to the ground.

                "Allison," Dan said, to which the blonde quicksilvered and went invisible.

                Ned was now almost even with Dan and Sarah, still carrying his M-79 grenade launcher. He fired another round just to the left of the visible portion. Again it hit and carried that strange deflection. "Damn as long as it's invisible, we're screwed,"  Ned said to Dan, after Sarah had taken off to cover Ranma.

                "It's being taken care of.  Shall we?" Dan asked switching to an armor-piercing clip for his Uzis.

                "Right," Ned said, pulling out his twin Ingrams, a gun very similar to Dan's.

                Rebecca watched the fight from her laptop, although anyone looking over her shoulder would see a meaningless jumble of green characters moving in a window.   It was one of many tricks she picked up from that movie.  She'd used it for so long she didn't even see the code, but images and senses more intricate that could be produced by a mere monitor, for it was her mind's eye that translated it.

                Ned's involvement was a unexpected but understandable complication. Oh well.  This fight would also be test trial for the new routines she had added to Ranma's template.  She was curious as to whether the self-adaptation routines she found would work.  They were notoriously vague and buggy things, the main reason that they were not used in templates.

                "Okay," Ranma thought rolling over to avoid another group of  liquid metal spikes.   "Sarah's behind  me providing cover,  Dan and that other guy are gunning interference, and Allison's disappeared.  Meanwhile this thing only makes its weapons visible just long enough to fire, allowing us to only take in a few shots, and this thing isn't giving of ANY ki something that every magical construct, living person, and appliance lager than a toaster possess to some extent."  Scanning the last place she saw the thing, she pulled her wings and went into a steep ascend. Ranma then looked over to her sister.

                Standing almost vertical elevated by her jumpjets, Sarah shook her head.  Her onboard sensors could only get echoes and static. Sarah looked don to see Winston and Dan almost back to back waiting, knowing that a fluid lance could appear at any moment, and that dodging would be difficult at best.  Dan had already taken a glancing blow, exposing his template's cybernetic endoskeleton just bellow his right ribs.  At least Ranma and herself had three dimensions to maneuver in.

                "I wish I could see the bastard," Ranma thought, waiting for the next wave.  A strange compulsion then developed, that if she wanted to she could have something that would do just that.  The winged girl then felt the urge to say something.  Giving in, she uttered the words: "Rose Hand Mirror Activate!"

                Shuddering Ranma looked down to see a small almost pinkish compact mirror resting in her left hand. "One step closer to being a fucking princes," she muttered.  It's surface had roses inscribed in the circumference and when she flipped it open, one half contained the standard mirror that doubled as a miniature view screen and the other had the mix of small buttons, that looked like makeup despite being plastic. Centered on it was a large humanoid shape with arrows and stats pointing to various points.

                Noting the status meter pointing to the left arm of the thing change, she dodged  another volley of  spikes.   Finding severe awkwardness of having to hold the thing in battle, Ranma received another compulsion.  After saying, "Rose Glasses, Activate!" a pair of slim rose tinted shades appeared over her eyes, providing an overlay similar to that of the mirror that had disappeared again, although with these there were no controls.  Now armed with an unobtrusive way of seeing the enemy Ranma, dove at it, aiming her twin beams at points the glasses highlighted.

                "Oh god there's more crap," Sarah though seeing her sister summon various artifacts.    She then noted that Ranma did seem to be able to see the invisible enemy.  Shrugging she followed her sister in.

                While covering Winston's clip reload, Dan noticed Ranma nimbly dance around the metal tendrils (barely), avoiding spikes that's power Dan knew all to well, while the powerful shots from her bracers were impacting with something.  He saw Sarah providing support alternating between firing at the same spot as Ranma and cutting some of the liquid blades.   Dan raised his arm till it was vertical then quickly pulled it down.

                Seeing the signal Allison stepped forward.  Thankful for the fresh shot of counteragent, she had tried to shadow the thing while staying undetected.   Because a quicksilvered human eye could see above and below the visible spectrum, but not in it( for quicksilver bends that range of light rendering invisibility), Allison could also see what she was up against.

                Tacking her gun, she fired  five shots in quick succession.   Hitting various points, the sticky bombs gripped onto some flexible cloak covering the thing.  Allison backed off again while the fuse delay counted down.

                Dan  paused when several explosions erupted around the object.  "Holy-fuck it's a mech in a cape," he said when the smoke cleared revealing the machine surrounded by a now holed fabric.

                "Yes, a cloak of invisibility," Winston said, pulling out his sniper riffle.  Quickly shouldering the weapon, "Ah Balgus if you only knew," he said before centering on a grill in the head of the mech.  Ned fired sending the slug right into the cockpit of the guymelef.  Which if the mech had a pilot, would have been a fatal head wound.

                "So it's a bot," Dan said getting out his missile launcher.

                "Or remote controlled," Winston said following suit with his grenade launcher.

                "On three," Dan said motioning with his hand.

                After catching the signal, Allison readied her weapon.  When the timer ran down each fired.   The three missiles lobbed over to the head of the mech, and hit.  The explosion knocked a large section of its head off.   At that moment Ranma, high above the guymelef flipped into a steep dive.  The powerful beams from her amps entered the smoking neck hole, cut through the mech's innards, and burst out hitting the ground.

                The machine used one of its arms to try and hit Ranma, but she was able to twist around the  liquid blades. Although the closer she kept her wings the less maneuverability she had.  With it's other arm the mech extended its  blades into a long arc which it tried to sweep across the field.

                Dan had two choices dodge or fire.  He knew he would be hit first and that time was short, but Dan still carefully aimed his launcher at the end of the arm that generated the approaching blade.  After the missile was released he twisted his body back and down, pulling the missile launcher up as a protective measure.  The missile hit the vents where the metal was released, destroying the apparatus.  The giant scythe started to fall and lose cohesion, just before it impacted with Dan.  It cut the missile launcher near the handle, slashed his left arm in a long oblique gash midway between his elbow and wrist, passed over his head, and fell to the ground in a mercury-like splash.

                "Oh Fuck," Dan said when he fell onto his back.  The broken launcher lay on either side of him.  He cybernetics were working on sealing the stump.  The wound was sickeningly uniform and level, clearly showing his endoskeleton, musculature, and various other components.  He picked up his head and looked mournfully at his arm, still in the sleeve of his coat, laying in the grass.  His template could repair most injuries (like self inflicted knife wounds), but it had never occurred to him to code in full amputation, at least his internal systems could block the pain, shock, and blood loss.

                One handed, he loaded a clip of armor piercing rounds into a Uzi and racked it.

                Ranma continued her decent , until she was even with the burnt remainder of the mech's head.  Grabbing onto the twisted metal surrounding the exposed hole into the machine, she folded back her  wings and flipped over, hitting the thing's chest with her boots.  A small icon appeared on her glasses tracking form left to right she turned to see it mach the path of a missile destroying the mech's left arm.

                She also sensed blades coming in from the other arm.  She let go falling down the side of the mech her bracers holding off the transient edges.  When she hit the ground she leapt back to gain some distance, and saw Dan firing one-handed, his other arm ending in a slowly dripping stump.   She focused on  the mech, the readouts displayed on her glasses, moving from point to point.  As the readouts changed, Ranma dove forward.

                "What the hell's she doing?" Allison asked standing near Dan after confirming that he was mostly alright.  Her weapon was raised, but she couldn't fire in fear of accidentally hitting the redhead.  Winston, out of grenade shells, had switched to his Ingrams, and Dan was reduced to one of  his Uzis.  Neither weapon, despite using special rounds, was producing much effect.

                Sarah dropped to the ground in between Ranma and the others.  Her plasma riffle was shouldered and aimed at the mech's chest.  She looked  down to see Ranma rushing forward. "What in God's name," she said, giving cover fire.

                Ranma ran in towards the mech, who responded by shooting its  metal spikes straight out.  Ranma dodged, then in midair changed directions, flipping over, under, and between the quasi-solid blades. Ranma had  managed to get near the machine again, only this time she was under it. Dual beams shot out, hitting the mech's legs an underside as she passed beneath it.

                Once she was behind it she briefly touched the ground, before leaping back up.  The mech's body and arm was swiveling around lining up for another try.   Ranma's glasses had formed a crosshair on a specific spot on the mech's midsection.  Her bracers charged and fired, this time the twin beams of amplified chi had formed extremely narrow and focused, merging into each other midway to target.

                The blades shot out at Ranma, who was hovering perfectly still while the beam burnt through several layers of armor.   As the blades got closer  the runes on her bracers changed slightly.  About half a dozen new beam shot out of the bracers, intersecting with the liquid blades.

                "Dear lord," Ned said, observing the fuku clad redhead.  The mech was desperately trying to dislodge her attack, by both moving itself and  sweeping with its one remaining blade device.   But no matter how hard it tried winged girl kept in the same position.  "Wait," Winston thought, "What's so critical about that one spot? I mean she won't move and the mech's adamantly trying to stop her.  And Why hasn't it burned through yet?" An then it fell into place.  "Jesus," Winston shouted, "Get back and get down it's gonna blow."

                The beam then burned past the final layer of containment amour and into the mech's power core (a calash coded device used in golems (magically supplemented robots) as an energy source).   When the beam hit the interior of the core, it destroyed several of the containment locks, causing and uncontrolled cascading reaction. The mech's safety cutoff  system activated to try and shut down the reactor, but the countermeasures were damaged and Ranma was still pouring energy into it.

                A blazing sphere of energy burst out if the of mech. It grew to a radius of about 4 feet, the beam of red energy still being pumped into it. Winston unable to keep down looked at the ball.  It hung there part inside and part outside of the mech.  The machine had gone still; its computers most likely having seized up.  Ned was confused he knew that when a core when critical it blew up.  He then studied the sphere it was almost as if something was containing it.

                Using the scope on his sniper rifle he studied the point where the red beam met the sphere.  His eyes widened in comprehension.  Instead of impacting with the sphere. The beam split, and encircled the blast containing it.  He then saw the red grid was breaking down.  The energy form the core leaking out.   The gaps grew.  "Fuck," Ned muttered.  "Again Get Down!" he shouted as the blast ripped through the red shell.

                Ranma had felt the template change, her body change, during the fight. Unlike other templates that had to be coded to match the user, that had to be upgraded manually, hers would grow and change, bonding with her, improving her, as need be.  Unfortunately  it had limits, she could do intercepts, barley, but that containment proved to be too much.  The template told her she could do it.  That is would upgrade itself to compensate. 

                "That was a lie," Ranma thought before hitting the ground, the pain of the impact accompanied by another pain, it was a tingling, stabbing almost draining sensation.    It was her template's script debuggers, trying to fix the hastily written code that had increased her speed, agility, sense perception, and bracer manipulation.  

The original code had produced numerous memory leaks, misplacing energy and data.  While small, the problems grew exponentially over time.  Small errors building on each other. Ranma lost consciousness as her body tried to fix itself.

                Rebecca smirked at the explosion on computer screen.  She has considered this test an acceptable success.  Now only has she gotten some supporting evidence that the organic template technology could actually work (that naive girlfriend of Spore had no idea what she had stumbled onto), shown that this design of golems had some promise, but she had discovered the tactical limitations of four potential enemies' templates.  Yes today was a good day.

                "What just happened?" Allison asked, covered in a light metal dusting. 

                "I think we just won," Ned said, getting up. He looked over to see a rather large shard of metal impaled into the ground nest to him.

                "What if there's more," Sarah asked scanning the tree line.

                "If there was, they would have attacked by now," Dan said, then at Winston, "You know what this thing is?"

                "Give me a moment" Ned started to walk around, looking at various bit of metal, mumbling to himself

                "Hey Ranma you okay?" Sarah asked.

                The unconscious redhead muttered something unintelligible.

                "Oh god." Sarah  walked up to Ranma.  She was laying on the ground her wins spread out under her.  "She's changed again,"  Sarah said noticing the slight costume change

                The runes on her amps had changed into a more recognizable pattern, looking almost like thorny vines.   Her earrings had changed to little gold dangly roses.  A ring had also appeared on her finger, instead of a stone it was a small piece of polished white bone, with a single rose scrimshawed in it.  The etchings were in two colors. The ink for the stem was a dark, almost black, green, and the petals themselves were inked in blood red.  However the most noticeable change was her choker, embedded in the front of it was and egg-shaped piece of glass, and frozen perfectly inside it was a single, rather small, rose.

                "She hurt?" Dan asked.

                "I don't think so," Sarah responded.  "Here breathing's normal and all.  Its like she's in a deep sleep, and won't wake up"

                "Odd.  Think the fight might've drained her."

                "Could have. I mean this is the first combat that Ranma's had with the template, and we really don't know anything about it."

                "True"

                "What about you?  You lost an arm."

                Holding the recently truncated limb Dan responded, "Yeah, I think I'll be okay when I revert out of my template."

                "Whatever you say."  

                "What do you think?" Dan asked Ned.

                "Based on recent happenings, I'd  have to agree, she's probably just drained.  Give her a few hours and she'll be fine.  As versatile those beams of hers are, ( I mean, cutting, piecing, explosive, weapons of various sizes and intensities, and a shield-like interception ability), they do have limits." Turning to Ranma specifically  "I'd imagine that the shield was really draining, intercepting all those hits.  As to why she even tried to contain the explosion…"

                "Any idea as to why the costume changed?" Allison asked

                "Don't know, although the changes seem to be superficial."

                Dan sighed. "And what about the mech. I mean only a few people work with golems, fewer still are good enough to make that."

                "This mech was based on a certain type of guymelef. A mech from an anime called Escaflowne.  Whoever did this made some modifications, but yeah, the root is mine."

                "So the same person that stole that temp, also stole the design to make that golem. If the same person was behind both," Dan proposed. "Any idea who could do this?" Dan asked.

                Ned's response was automatic.  It was all part of the deal he had made with Rebecca, except now he was even more wary of reprisal. There was something very disturbing about that girl, and after all it wasn't his fight. "Nope, although whoever did this must have been one hell of a hacker. I only got the slightest tinge of a security breach."

                "That fits the pattern," Dan said.

                "No problem," Ned said, but a small voice was nagging him.  If this wasn't his fight then why did he come  and help them.  

                Dan looked back to see a woman leaving the school walking towards them. "Damn it's the VP."

                "You guys go, I'll take care of this," Ned stated.

                "Are you sure?" Dan said, looking at the approaching administrator.

                Ned turned to the debris, "Yup."

                "Thanks again," then at the others, "Saddle up we're going back to the barn. "

                "Can I drive?" Alison asked.

                "Sure, it's no like you suck anymore. Sarah can you carry Ranma?   I'll help but."

                "Yeah, yeah, one arm," the power suit wearing redhead said, as she picked up her sister.

                Standing next to the crater, Ned closed his eyes.  He felt the Beast rumble as it powered up, then the distinct wine if a turbine.  Opening his eyes he saw the large black shape pass, then he looked over to see the administrator's final approach.

                Judy Miller, was not a happy educator.  Unlike most of her coworkers, she couldn't lean back and let things slide.  Unlike those lazy teachers, she had to provide some semblance of order.  Granted this was Lockridge and some compromises had to be made, but this was taking things too far.    "Well, well Mr. Winston I seems your friends have ditched you.   I would have expected more from the sheriff's daughter and her friends but…"

                "I told them to go. It wasn't their fault."

                "Well you could explain what happened then, because all I know is that, a very large, possibly dangerous, machine tore up the back fields while fighting with some students.  Now I know you posses expertise in such things."

                 "I just saw  this thing advancing on my fellow students and I went to help."

                Miller gave s tight lipped smile, "So you were just helping out, that isn't like you."

                "So?"

                "And there's also the weapons discharge on school grounds."

                "You know how the town council enforces laws.  The response was justified."

                "Depends, was this," she points at the scattered debris, "your responsibility?"

                Ned reverted out of his template, making the weapons disappear.

                "Well it doesn't matter.  I'm sure an examination of the hardware will reveal its origins."

                "I don't think whoever did this would be that sloppy."

                "True"

                "Not that it was my doing."

                "Of course it wasn't.  Seeing as the net damage was minimal, I'm willing to offer a deal.  You clean up this mess, and we'll call it even."

                Ned considered it. He could use the raw materials.  He also had a means of  transporting the goods to his workshop.  A couple tones of metal in return for some landscaping and shipping. "Sure I'll fix the field, and dispose the stuff."

                Miller nodded. She hated having to constantly cut deals, but uncompromising enforcement was not an option.   She couldn't even keep truancy down. Oh well at least most of the little monsters were wiling to be diplomatic about it.

                Ned nodded in return.

                "Why are we still in our templates, and why'd we just leave?" Sarah asked, trying to get Ranma  comfortable in her seat, even in their compact form, her wings refused to lie flat enough.

                "Because," Dan said, while Allison forced the truck around a curve. "Someone tried to kill us, hurt us, or do something, and we need to be ready.  That's why we're going back home.  We can regroup there and plan our next move."

                "And what will that be?" Allison asked.

                I don't know was Dan's response, as they continued to drive home.  They were about to turn onto  the driveway when Allison noticed a car sitting in front of the garage.  It was a familiar red Honda.  Cautiously the they drove up ready to leap out, if need be.  As they got closer two people leaning along the vehicle became visible.  One of them all knew, the other only Ranma would have been able to identify.

                Rebecca was sitting at the back porch of her house, working at her laptop.   Ned was a conundrum.  She didn't care if he helped the others, just as long as he kept his end of the agreement.  His actions were just curios.  She was pleased with this latest bit of today's progress(although there were still many unaccounted variables to be found), and was putting the final touches on her next project.  Unfortunately these protocols were radically different than those in on subject 1 and couldn't be implemented without interfering with other trials already under development.  She needed another body to imprint.   Although finding one with the right potential would be difficult.

                She lived alone.  Her parents died in a plane crash two years ago.  Afterward she had been in the care of an aunt from Arizona.  When she turned 17 she petitioned the town council to giver her adult status.  Considering the uniqueness that is Lockridge and the proximity to 18 her request was granted.  The aunt was all too relived to go back to the normality of Phoenix.

                This made it all the more unusual when her inner perimeter sensors were tripped.  The cameras  showed a hiker, Asian, male, perhaps a year younger than her.  Obviously not going for stealth, it intervened her as to how he could've slipped past the outer perimeter.

                The wooded path that he was following would shortly bring him to the hilly meadow that tumbled down  behind her house.  She set he I/O sphere on long range ready to scan as soon as he got in range.  The results were surprising.

                In addition to having to potential for Calash, the hiker had two other bits of magic coded in him.  One seemed to do something to point of location, but it was trivial, the other however was very similar to that of subject 1.  Rebecca smiled.  This was too convenient, again a suitable subject had fallen right into her hands.  Although the first time she hadn't realized the importance of what she'd done.

She would talk to the boy see what he wanted, what he desired.  She would then give it to him, with more than a few strings attached.

                What she would find is a boy desperate for cures and revenge.  And more than willing to make a deal.

Thanks to my Pre-readers, who made this chapter what it is

S. Metcalf, Akraen  akraen@hotmail.com, grammar

Reisbeck, John richexs@bigfoot.com, grammar

"wrayloflin"wrayloflin@yahoo.com, grammar

Jerry starfire@brainerd.net Ranma's "accoutrements"

Jakub jpilecki@poczta.fm organic tech, end of ch. plot revisions

Andrew Painter, ranko@blueyonder.co.uk 

La Valley , Jay  acidjack@infi.net 

Merritt, James j.merritt1@home.com AI work


	5. Beta Patches and Upgrades

Chapter 5 - Beta Patches and Upgrades

"Why don't you eliminate the entire Narn homeworld while you're at it?" Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

                Ranma  snapped back to consciousness.  It was like s a switch was flipped and suddenly her mind was up and running.  Which on a certain level was entirely accurate.  Her eyes were closed, but she could feel wings and was therefore still in template.  Opening her eyes  she saw that she was laying  on a couch  in the den of the O'Neil place.  A quick glance at her clothing made it apparent that some other  minor changes had happened to her template, the new choker was especially aggravating.   She turned to see someone sitting in a recliner near the couch.  "What the hell are you doing here?"

                "Hey Ranma," Gosunkugi said, in English.  "We've got some things we need to talk about."  He then looked at the, I/O sphere connected, laptop resting on the end table next to his chair.  Strangely he only looked at the screen, and didn't touch anything.

                From the kitchen a girl's voice, Ranma didn't recognize, said in a slight Boston accent  "Hey he's up."

                Ranma noticed something odd, Gos didn't appear to be denting the cushions to his chair, it was as if he was just _ barely_ floating. Shrugging she shifted out of template and into that dreadful uniform Allison had tricked her into.

                "Shut up," Ranma replied after Gos raised an eyebrow.

                "Now what did I tell you about acting perverted," the same voice form the kitchen said.

                "What is going on?" Ranma asked evenly.  "Why are _you_ here?"

                "Think about it," the pale boy responded.

                Then it hit her.  Spore, the Japanese account, the modeling of the template.  "You! You did this!" Ranma growled.

                "Hey all I did was write the damn thing,  someone else stole it and installed it."

                Ranma paused, "Yes but, how-why," she stammered.  "I mean you're Gosunkugi."

                He chuckled, "Yes I'm supposed to be some hopelessly inept, Akane obsessed, wanabe mage."

                "And you're not."

                "Not anymore, I was given a gift, something that changed my life."

                "Like getting an I/O sphere from that drunk is so great." The voice from the kitchen said.

                "If wasn't for that 'drunk' you wouldn't even exist," Gos responded.

                "I am not a drunk." Another voice from in the kitchen said.

                "Is that Reno?" Ranma asked.

                "Yeah, he's helping Allison and Sarah fix Dan's arm."

                "So who's that other girl?" Ranma asked finally sitting up.

                "Erika Berkley," the girl said walking in.  She was wearing a black leotard, black boots, and a chainmail skirt.  Her deep blue hair went freely down to her shoulder blades.

                "I told her to wear something a little inconspicuous, but no," Gos said, then sighed   "At least she looks hot."

                "My little perv," Erika smiled.

                Ranma was busy trying to absorb the information.  Gosunkugi was real wizard, had built that damned temp, _and_ was having a semi-normal conversation with a girl.

                "Come on, it makes a lot of sense when you think about it," Erika stated, "Ever wonder why Gos was always so pale?"

                "Not really," Ranma said looking over at him, some_thing_ was definitely off about him.

                "It's because I spent every free moment wandering around databases, servers, and just about every system I could hack.  That's why I got the I/O sphere in the first place.  I cleared up a little tax problem for Germ Forge, Reno, a year ago and he gave one to me in return."

                "Wait, if you knew Calash all this time,  then how come you didn't do anything.  If you could make templates and stuff, then how come you were only a minimal player in the Nerima madness?"  
                "Because while anyone can write the code and do the basic I/O functions, only a select few can install or remove magical apps. I was not one of them, until recently."

                Noticing Ranma's lack of response, Erika sighed and asked, "And how did you get that ability?" 

                "Well I couldn't have done it without your help."

                "Why, what did she do?" Ranma yawned 

                Gos smiled, just before disappearing. 

                 Ranma turned to Erika, "What the hell just happened?"

                 Erika just smiled, and shifted…

                into and exact duplicate of Gos, down to the jeans, and the white t-shirt with the words L33T M3 written on it. "Erika did modify the curse a bit."

                Ranma looked down, then back up. "What, just happened?" she asked.

                "That me over there was just a projection," Gos said pointing to the chair.

                "And Erika's what?"

                "Yeah about that, see there're two people in here," Gos said pointing to himself.

                "Huh?"

                "Um yeah," Gos said looking over to the side, "Looks like, I'll have to tell that damn story all over again." Gos paused, then after a couple of seconds rolled his eyes, "Well yes, story time _could_ have waited till she woke up, but I thought and explanation as to why we were waiting at their front door was necessary."

                "What?"

                "Not you.   I was talking to Erika."

                "The girl that was just here."

                Gos nodded.

                "So she's a voice in your head."

                "Not exactly. Look lets go outside and I'll explain everything."

                 "Why there?"

                "Because," Gos said leveling his voice, "some of the information you'll want to dispense at your own discretion."

                "Nerima?"

                "Some of it."

                "Okay just let me change out of this god awful thing." Ranma said before walking into the living room and running up the stairs.

                Gos tuned to see Sarah leaning in the doorway between the den and the kitchen.  
                "I'll be watching," she said her eyes narrowing.

                "As you should," was Gos' reply.

                Ranma came down shortly, male, and wearing black pants and red shirt. "Let's go," he said to the apparently competent mage.

                "Communist," Sarah coughed. 

                "Hey!"

                "No, no, no" Gos interjected while shutting down his laptop, "The red shirt means he dies first."

                "Oh god you're a trekkie," Sarah moaned.

                "A little, what scifi do _you _watch?"

                "Babylon mostly."

                 "Ah, B5 no that's a good show."

                "Um, Gos weren't we going for a walk," Ranma interrupted. "You two can talk about the Evil Empire latter."

                "Hey don't be bringing Star Wars into this," Gos stated.

                "No, he's talking about the Soviets." 

                "I give up," Ranma groaned pushing past them into the kitchen. Inside he saw Reno, Allison and Dan at the table.  Dan was in his template, his severed arm flush with the stump.  Two laptops were running, both hooked up to an I/O sphere with  Alison operating both.   Sean had a set of jewelers magnifiers over his eyes, and was manipulating small instruments in the small gulf between cuts.

                Sean stopped his manipulations, "Next connection."

                 "Wait, let's see if this one works," Allison said.

                "Right."

                  "On my mark test it," Dan said closing his eyes and gritting his teeth in case the system shorted.

                 "Queuing muscular supplement, sub-conduit  489," Allison read off one of her screens.

                 "Hit it."  The newly connected cybernetics activated entering their test mode to see if the new parts had been configured correctly.  The minute signals bounced around with increasing complexity, an if there had been and error it would have caused noticeable damage, for Dan's template unlike Ranma's could not enter a 'safe' mode and debug/repair itself.

                 "Clear," Allison said, to Dan's relief.

                 "What's going on?" Ranma asked.

                 "Remember when I got hit with the blade during the fight."

                 "Oh yeah," Ranma recalled, that's why he was asleep in that thing.  Ranma vaguely recalled being hit by and explosion at the end of the fight. "I thought you could heal injuries, like the terminator."

                 "Well a deep cut and a full amputation are different things, and addition there was much more damage to my endoskeleton and various other components than I originally thought." Then turning to Allison "Next?"

                 The blonde scrolled through the arm assembly schematics. "The core structure had been rebuilt along with three of the five conduits, after that its just minor musculature and skin repairs."

                 "There's two more of these dammed things." Sean groaned, switching his tools. "Dan, you've got to put in better wetware."

                 "Yes, I'm aware of that, but recoding my entire architecture will take too long, and I need an operational template as soon as possible."

                 "True," Sean allowed.

                 "Let's go," Gos said,  a laptop satchel slung at his side.

                 "Where's Sarah?" Ranma asked, looking into the empty den.

                 "Oh around," Gos replied.

                 They exited the house using the back door, walking up the worn path to the  range. Gos looked at the level green field, and then turned to the wedge of sky visible above the clearing. "Look's like rain."

                 "Yup," Ranma replied.

                 "Been a mild fall?"

                 "So far, but that means that winter will hit even harder."

                 "Well we are in the mountains.  What a mile above sea level?" He inhaled, "Air's thinner up here, that been affecting your flying?"

                "No.  Look can we get past the small talk?"

                "Right which first, Erika or your temp?"

                "They're interconnected aren't they"

                "Yup, I guess I'll go further back then.  Most of my life was spent in shame, afraid of other people.  You know that standard withdrawn loner crap.  Coupled with Japan's reverence for conformity, my only outlet became computers.  Eventually I fell in with certain groups, and found out that I possessed L33T SKILLZ.  I specialized in getting onto government systems.  That's how I fixed Forge's tax problem. Shortly after that I got a package from New Zealand, my first I/O sphere.

                "But as you know I failed to have the potential.  That didn't stop me from learning Calash, coding some templates, and taking scans of local phenomenon.  I had a couple templates each fitted to various locals.  But I got bored with them before they were finished."

                "Why'd you make them? I mean  if they got out…" Ranma trailed.

                "Yes it could have been quite bad.  That's why I transferred them off my machine just in case."

                 "And then Forge's archives got hacked, and she got all your early templates."

                 "Yes, but yours was the only one close to completion, the rest were just outlines and skeletal codlings and such.  After my falling out with Calash, I wandered around the 'net looking for something interesting, and I found it in artificial intelligence."

                 "Erika?" Ranma asked.

                 "Not quite yet. You see I had broken into the top research facilities in the field, universities, corporations both civil and military contractors and government projects.  It was relatively easy, well compared to the IRS, because the complexity in any half decent AI necessitated a lot of external networking.  Once I was in I looked around taking pieces from dozens of teams and connecting them, and then it happened."

                 "It couldn't have been that simple."

                 "You'd be amazed at what cutting edge technology can do, it is almost on par with Calash, and magic. And when you combine them."

                 "So what is Erika?"

                 "A living sentient person just like you or me, she's also my girlfriend."

                 Ranma, stepped back a little trying to wrap his brain around the previous statement. "So you were so desperate for companionship, that you broke dozens of laws and made an unparalleled scientific breakthrough. Just to get a girl that would like you."

"Yup sounds pretty damn sad," Gos agreed.

                "And how did you move her from all those computers to _inside_ your head? Especially since you couldn't even use Calash"

                "It all started when Forge told me about being attacked by four people, one of them a winged Japanese redhead wearing a fuku. This put all the pieces into place.  Where you'd gone to.  How I could actually use Calash.  What I should do with my life.  How I could help Erika. It was all there."

                "In one simple message," Ranma said skeptically.

                "Yes you see, It had to be you, because that was a template I made for your girl side, and once I got out of Forge where he lived I knew where you had gone.  Lockridge made a lot of sense.

                "Now how I actually got access to Clash, that was entirely Erika's work. By reverse engineering the I/O sphere she discovered the requirements necessary for potential.  Why some can use Clash while others can't.   With this information, she then altered a copy of the Clash interpreter, broadening  the user requirements. 

                "It made it so that I could just barely use this version of Clash.  It was very slow and inefficient, by my foot was in the door.  Erika then loaded an app into me that simulated some of the properties of potential.  This made the connection a bit better, like tying a coat hanger to and old TV antenna.  She was then able to refine the user requirements, again making the connection better.  Think of a microphone, you can place it in the middle of the room and hear a little bit from everyone, or put it in front of a single person and hear everything he's saying.  If you know where he is, you can get closer to him.  

"Likewise, as she refined the requirements she was able to cut out more and more of the background noise, while expanding my ability to connect to the sphere.  With each cycle of upgrades, my abilities got better, until I had essentially the same skills as you or Sarah."

                "Could others get potential this way?" Ranma asked, catching only the gist of it:  Erika made it so that Gos could use Calash.

                "No. Unless they had someone like Erika doing it for them. Hell, even if someone had copies of my adapter programs, they couldn't do it.  The code itself is useless, it's the process that's important. Even the procedure of expansion and refinement is different for everyone.   Having potential is essentially the ability to connect to an I/O sphere.

                "If you don't have potential you can't connect, and the possible reasons for this are numerous and complicated.  That's why only certain people have the right combination of characteristics that allows this connection."

                "So how'd I get my potential?" Ranma asked, again getting some of what Gos had said.

                "Erika thinks its hereditary(look at Lockridge).  So probably from you mother, Sarah's an example. Wait, but her father also has it.   And then there's the mater of why you mother even had potential in the first place.  Well she did end up here, but that brings up another point…"

                Ranma glazed over, as Gos began to ramble.  Before Ranma had tired to listen to what the pale boy was saying: it might have made sense.  But Ranma knew what Gos was saying was just dull, and  not Gos talking over his head.  "Yes that's nice and all but could you get back to you little story about Erika?" Ranma said interrupting Gos' amazingly dry monologue about genealogy and migration patterns.

                "Oh right sure, after I got potential I was able to load a vessel that Erika had constructed in Clash that could contain her.   After she transferred herself into me all that was left was to curse myself, to give her a body."

                "But how'd you even get cursed water?"

                "Oh I didn't need the water, remember back when I scanned you, that's when I got a copy of the curse.  I then transferred it to myself after Erika had modified the install commands to allow for my girl form to be fitted to her specifications."

                "I thought Jusenkyou was a different class of magic from Clash."

                "It is," Gos said switching his bag to the other shoulder. "But she didn't have to decode the curse.  She just encapsulated the Jusenkyou code in Calash to upgrade it."

                "To get the changing at will and separate clothing for each form." Ranma observed.

                "Yes both are rather easy.  When a template loads your clothing  changes, right, so all you have to do is each time the curse triggers it saves the current state and loads the previous one.  It also works for other things.  You've seen how my hair is much shorter than Erika's.  And the control switching was a simple program that override the trigger response."

                Ranma nodded slightly, then spoke, "Two questions: Are you separate people? and Why'd you do this, let someone else in you body?"

                "First yes we are two separate individuals, we just happened to be rooming so to speak.  And as for why consider loneliness.   Back in Nerima I was alone, as I'd gather were you too.   Think of what I created. Erika is the only one of her kind.  And as she grew she realized what she'd been denied, and what she could never experience.

                "I _had_ to help her.  It would have been immeasurably cruel to leave her confined to servers.  True she is a vast web of linked programs, but she had a soul. But now at least some of the time she has a body. And the time I spend just seeing from cameras and hearing from microphones, existing as a projection, can help me understand her."

                "And Akane?"

                Gos narrowed his eyes, "A simple crush.  A pathetic, sad, and powerful crush.  She messed us both up." He recalled bitterly,  "but that part of my life is over.  I've escaped Nerima, much like you."

"How'd you manage that, aren't you parents still alive?"

                "Ah but they're dead to me.  They read the acceptance letters, they practically pushed me onto the plane."

                "Dead? Letters?"

                "My parents were yuppies, self centered brats.  I swear they had me because some magazine said it was the latest fad.   They had some decency, I mean they did keep me around, but they had no compunction about sending me to some academy in Seattle, provided that I had a full scholarship of course."

                "How'd you manage that?"

                "Same way I made Erika a US citizen.  I hacked into their records."

                "What if they call?"

                "They won't and even if they did it's covered," Gos assured. "I have friends in that city, granted I wouldn't recognize them if I met them on the street but that's how it goes."

                Raman absorbed the facts, Gosunkugi was a mage, had a girlfriend, and had friends loyal to him.  "You've changed."

                "No I was always the same, but I was afraid to show it, to know it." Gos sighed. "And now we move past what  I have told your family(the one here, your real one), and into what is for you alone."

                "What?"

                "The true nature of your template, and the movements in Nerima."

                "Nerima first."

                "Right, Nabiki has organized the others.  Until they find you they will work together."

                "Who's they?"

                "The Amazons, The Kunos,  Nabiki, Akane."

                "I'm surprised Akane's with them, I thought she'd be glad to be rid of me."

                "She's spoiled.  Just like the others she won't leave you alone, but she _will_ deny it," Gos said his voice gaining and edge.  He then regained his composure, "Two are missing. Ukyou and Ryouga.  Shortly after you finished Cologne's language lessons (an admirable ploy), Ukyou closed her shop and moved away.  Ukyou told the others that when her father heard of Genma's demise and your disappearance, he annulled both the engagement and the vendetta, and recalled his child. Whether or not this is just a ruse and she is striking out on her own--"

                Ranma cut him off, "She is not coming for me.  She is the only one there who I told where I went.  If she was after me she would already be here." 

                "It's a big risk."

                "I trust her.  I had to tell _someone_ where I was going."

                "It is not a question of trust but of desperation.   What if the others think that Ukyou knows something.  The amazons have ways of making people talk, and they will not relent."

                Ranma recalled being chased across China, and the mind-bending properties of a certain hair care product.

                "Ryouga as always wanders, and may show up at inopportune times.  But I have prepared a diversion.  Nabiki knows I am in Seattle, and if she were to search online newspaper archives, she would find a handful of articles and blurbs.  Rumors have also been constructed.  They will arrive in the city, and spend their time chasing shadows."

                "And if this ploy fails, and they find Lockridge?" Ranma asked.

                "Then we will be more than prepared for their arrival," Gos said his eyes narrowing.

                "Easy for you to say.  They're after me."

                "Yes, but Nabiki reigns the hounds, and I angered her greatly when I left.  For I know where you are, am beyond her power, and threatened her money."

                "Oh," Ranma responded.

                "Do not worry for I have many eyes and see many things.  Even now my associates track their movements" Gos chuckled, "Ah the power of technology."

                "Alright _now_ you're back to being the pale creepy guy."

                Gos laughed, "Good, and now to your template."

                "What about it?" Ranma asked knowing that the answers would be unpleasant.

                "I never finished your template.  It had to have been completed by the person that stole it." Gos paused, then muttering to himself, or more likely Erika, "Are you absolutely sure? Yes I know you scanned but.  Alright, yes.  But you know what that means.  Fine."  He looked at Ranma, "During the last fight, you activated some magical artifacts, right."

                 "Yeah, those damn compact and glasses.  Well I guess you put those things in to complete the magical girl look right."

                 "Nope.  I never got far enough to put accessories in."

                "So the hacker put them in."

                "I hope so."

                "What does that mean?"

                "Your costume also changed."

                "Yeah that stupid choker was gouging into my neck."

                "What do you expect you have an egg sized chunk of glass in your throat.  Erika recall those images." Gos said holding his hands out flat."  Appearing on  each was a  small projection of Ranma's template.  "The one on the left I got from Sarah, after she changed the colors, the day you were imprinted. The other is from just before you woke up. Notice any differences." He said pointing to the two miniature winged girls.

                "Roses," he observed flatly.

                "Yup it seems to have become your motif, in rose jewelry, rose accents, and other things of that sort. It fits the Rose Glasses and  the Rose Hand Mirror."

                "And you weren't behind this either."

                "Nope, I'm hoping that that was just a triggered effect, to be set off when you activated the artifacts.  The alternative isn't good, for any of us" Gos said dismissing the holograms.

                "Why."

                "First of all it means that our hacker managed to get into Erika's personal files, recently. This is not outside the realm of possibilities, after all she did manage to defeat the security at Forge's Germany site and alter the template's original pass codes.  But more importantly is was what she could have gotten."

                "How do you know she was even there."

                "I have my ways."

                "Damn it! Why to you people always say that?"

                "Now that… is a-"

                "Don't," Ranma interrupted.

                "Fine. Well any way, if she stole what I think she did, and put it in your template sometime before that fight, then it's a miracle you're still alive."

                "I just keeps getting better," Ranma groaned.

                "For the last month Erika's been fiddling with Organic Technology."

                "And that's?"

                "Here's the concept, say you're in a fight, and you need something.  It can be anything,  weapons, systems, parts, upgrades, additions.  The template itself will do that for you.  It will help you automatically, responding to problems immediately."

                "But isn't a template really hard to program."

                "Yes it is, that's the problem, there are too may variables. It takes a person hours sometimes days to upgrade a template.  Look at Dan, he's got two other people working on him for an hour, and he just got an arm chopped off."

                "Wait so you're saying that my template upgraded itself: making those artifacts and adding in the roses," Ranma said skeptically.

                "And some new bracer attacks," Gos added. "But let me finish. Since it takes a thinking mind to code a template, Erika reasoned that all she had to do is put an AI in the template.  So she copied some of her protocols and tailored them to the task of template upgrading."

                "So it's like a little programmer in your head."

                "Exactly.  Well it's not quite conscious,  but it is a _very powerful program.  The problem comes in with speed.  Even the L33test coders make mistakes.  And since organic tech had the code written on the spot, there's a lot of typos. And in Calash bugs have hideous effects."_

                "Why aren't the errors fixed before it's installed."

                "How do you know there's a problem unless something wrong happens, and there isn't time for a trial run."

                "Walked into that one. So why am I lucky to be alive?"

                "I've been talking in theoretical terms, as to how organic tech should work.  Even under the most idea circumstances, there'd be some problems.  Hell, Erika had only run a few tests before it was stolen.  Who knew what it'd do in a live subject?  That you just passed out for a while is really good," Gos then paused.

                Ranma sighed. "You're going to make me ask another question.  Why can't you just keep your little monologue running on your own?"

                "It means that the AI was able to repair all of the bugs, while keeping the errors from spreading.   The problems could have cascaded out of control, putting you in a coma or killing you.  The good news is that this probably won't happen again, as time passes the AI in the organic code will grow and get better."

                "Probably?" Ranma said.

                "That is even if you have the damned thing." Gos pointed.  "I need your help to run a few more tests."

                "Right." Ranma sighed. "This hacker's a real big problem."

                "Oh yeah, she's our next priority," Gos said glad that they were done with _that subject, especially since Ranma never asked exactly how the Organic tech got the required information off of its user, or the self upgrading abilities of the AI itself._

                "Is that it?"

                "That's it"

                "Why didn't you want the others to hear about organic tech or Nerima?" Ranma asked, walking back to the path.

                "I wanted you to make the choice to tell them yourself.  I'm not sure about the organic yet and it might worry them.  It's a lot like artificial intelligence, legendary, very hard, but unlike it potentially dangerous.  

                 "And Nerima, I want to avoid a confrontation between the old crew and the new crew.  In Nerima fighting is something that you can always recover from.  It has no consequence.  But here it does,  you've seen the weapons  they carry. If it came down to a fight, especially for you,  they would use lethal force. It'd be like the scene in that Indiana Jones movie. You know where when against that swordfighter Indy simply shot him."

                Ranma's mind was filled with jumbled images of  what could happen.  One group of violent loons versus another group, slightly saner but much more lethal.  The first group would be desperate, unstable and had a history of jumping to wild conclusions, the other would protect themselves using whatever means necessary.  The presence of someone bearing a close resemblance to his girl side would not help things along.

                 "Sarah," Ranma finally said.

                "Yes, unless you know where to look you two are identical. And don't forget the language barrier."

                "I can see why you sent them to Seattle. I agree they must never meet, but I'll have to tell Sarah and the rest what's going on.  So they'll be prepared."

                "As you wish, but if cornered they will defend themselves," Gos paused, then added "and you."

                "I know," Ranma said his mouth dry 

                "And the organic tech?"

                "Sure why not," Ranma said beginning to walk down the path, turning to see if Gos was following him. "What are you looking at?"  he asked following the pale hacker's gaze. He was looking at a darkened shape in a second floor window.  There was also a slight glint from a what looked to be a very small piece of circular glass.  "Is that Sarah? She was watching us"

                "Yes," Gos replied, "I believe that she was watching to see if I would attack you."

                Ranma looked blankly.

                "It makes sense, things have been dangerous lately.  Only this morning you were attacked by a mech.  As I've said before your friends here would kill for you."

                "You didn't mind?"

                "Unlike others, Sarah knows that some things can never be taken back.  She would not act blindly.  So no I don't mind, Erika was a bit miffed, but that's understandable," Gos replied, then appended, "Besides someone is always watching."

                Ranma considered the riddle.  There were other reasons for having this discussion outside.

                "Boss?"  the deputy asked knocking on the door to the Sheriff's office.

                "Come in Ted," Jack replied, looming up form his desk.

                Deputy Ted Johansen, a tall thin man walked into the office, the only distinguishing aspect of his face was a  moustache and goatee  he'd grown.  "You comin' to the Wolf for a bite?"

                Jack looked at his watch. "Sure," he said  getting up.  Putting his coat on he followed the younger deputy out to the front door. They passed the front desk where the other deputy was playing a text based RPG, at his desktop. "Damn grue," he muttered.

                "Still playing that game Bill?" Johansen asked.

                The other deputy, Bill Warwick, "Yup, nothing much else to do."

                "That's' good news in our line of work," Johansen joked, "Sheriff and I are going to get some lunch.  Want us to bring somethin' back?"

                "Sure, the usual," Warwick replied.

                The two police officers left the station, and walked down the street to the Wolfe's Head Bar and Grill, one of the few business in the small town. On the main street it was a few buildings down from the police station.  It was a multistory building faced in wood planking with apartments on the second and third floors.  When they entered Johansen sat down at the bar counter and ordered his and the other deputy's food.  Jack simply said: the usual.

                "Sheriff O'Neil there you are," said a voice from one of the booths.

                Jack looked to see Judy Miller the high school's vice principle.  Looking at the glasses on her table it was apparent that she'd had more than a few.

                "I took the rest of day off," she said defensively.  "The teachers can be flakes so why can't I. Anyway you'd have quit early if you'd have my day."

                Jack raised and eyebrow.

                "It's those damn daughters of yours, always horsing around.  Although the other one's new.   Stupid kids, screwin' with the records. Is it too hard for them to be _normal_?" the drunken administrator whined. 

                "What happened," Jack asked speaking for the first time.

                "On nothing, just some fight tore up the back fields and filled it with hunks of metal.  I come out to see what going on and, what happens, your girls that Arzish boy and his girl run off."

                Carrying dinks and three boxes, Johansen walked up next to the sheriff and said, "Miller's been hitting the sauce again."

                "She do this often?" O'Neil asked.

                "Every couple months something strange  rubs her the wrong way.  She's good at her job, that's the problem.  She cares enough to try and run a tight ship, and well around these parts, especially with the youngsters, that's raring for trouble," the deputy then turned to the bartender.  "Make sure someone drives her home."

                Always do, was the response.  Jack then pulled out his cell phone.  He had a few calls to make. 

                Sarah and Allison were in the kitchen cleaning up the equipment used to fix Dan's arm.  Sean had ran out of the house shortly after finishing the repair, remembering that while his boss had allowed him to come in late today (so he could pick up Gos and Erika up at the airport in Casper) he was due in at noon.  Dan not having slept recently decided to go to his room to take a nap.  Leaving Ranma with Erika and Gos in the next room.   They were examining code from Ranma's template, when the ringing of a phone interrupted them.

                "That yours?"  Ranma asked, in female from, having just reverted out of template.

                Holo-Gos looked at Erika, who shook her head. "Nope," he replied.

                "It's mine," Sarah shouted from the kitchen.

                "Answer it," Ranma said annoyed at the insensate ringing.

                "Fine." Sarah walked into the room and picked it up.  Answering it, "Oh hi dad.  Well yeah that did happen.  No we're all fine.  Well Dan got a little hurt, but he's better now.  Yes I know.  Again we are all okay.  Alright bye," Sarah clicked the phone off.  "That's odd."

                "What? Jack's bound to find out about the fight."

                "Yeah but this soon.  Eh doesn't matter," she said about to put the phone down.

                Gos was looking at the device, "Wait, isn't that a remote control."

                "Used to be," Sarah remarked.

                "Oh can I see it?"

                "Sure" she said tossing it as Gos' head.  Where it passed through and would have hit the floor, if Erika hadn't caught it.

                "I'm the projection now," Gos exclaimed, "Is it that hard to see?"

                "Actually it is,"  Sarah replied.  "Maybe you should have a nice 'H' on your forehead."

                "No."

                "She has a point," Erika said. "I mean we do use light bees."

                Noticing Ranma's puzzlement, "Sorry that's from and old British scifi comedy. A light bee is a small device that projects my image and allows me to see, hear, and talk."

                "Makes sense."

                "Interesting," Gos observed looking at the modified remote Erika was holding up to his face.

                "Eh, I was bored," Sarah commented.

                "No, there's good work in this," he said looking at the phone. "The antenna assembly is especially clever."

                "Can we get back to the template?" Ranma said.

                Erika put the remote next to her laptop, "Okay fine, I can't break the pass codes."

                "What?" Ranma stammered. "But you're some type of super computer. Why can't you do it? It was done before."

                "As much as I admire the high regard you have for my skills.  I'm not omnipotent.  Our little hacker broke into an incomplete template, a much easier thing to do than a finished one.  In addition she put in some pretty heavy encryption."

                "Just great." 

                "Don't worry I took some readings to figure out how the algorithms work.  And if anyone's gonna break it I will."

                "Alright so next we have those new artifacts. I'm afraid you gonna have to go into template again."

                Ranma sighed, and shifted.

                After the flash died down, Erika looked at fuku and said, "You're such a perv."

                "Hey, the hacker could have shortened the skirt or made her cleavage visible," Gos said indignantly.

                "Yes but we know the hacker was a girl." Erika replied.

                "Again, how do you people know that?" the winged pseudo magical girl asked.

                "So what if she was a girl?" Allison stated, ignoring Ranma's question.

                "Yes we all know that wouldn't be a problem for you," Sarah commented. She then looked around realizing that Erika and Gos didn't know Allison, and that her brother, or sister, was a little clueless.   

                "Yes, why don't you tell us why that's not a problem for me." Allison smiled.

                Sarah grumbled and went back into he kitchen.  Allison then leaned on the wall off to the side.

                "Alright Ranma, summon those things," Erika said watching the incoming feed from her I/O sphere.

                "Rose Compact activate,  Rose Glasses, activate." Ranma muttered, hoping that this time someone would be able to help her.

                "Interesting, see how the recall command works." Erika said.

                "Where the hell is that data stored then?" Gos said.

                "It seems to be in the priority section, damn," then turning to Ranma, "Can I see those things?"

                "Sure," Ranma said, taking off the rose sunglasses. The sensor overlay they gave off was a bit disorientating, especially when she looked at Gos.  The projection was very good, possessing an immense poly count, and to the unaided human eye indistinguishable from a real person.  But whatever sensors served her template could see through the  projection and made Gos semi-transparent. She could even see the little robot flying inside his head.

                "Wow the hacker does nice work," Erika commented fiddling with the glasses.

                "Or you did," Gos said.

                "I'm not sure this is the work of organic tech," she said opening the compact. "Hello there," she said filling with some of the buttons on the lower section, while gazing at the mirror. "It's like a palm," she observed.

                "Can you find any temp controls?" Gos asked, looking at the little computer slash makeup compact.

                Holding it like a gameboy Erika scrolled through the options and windows. "No just the general colors and stuff."

                "Can you make it less intense?" Ranma asked, stretching.  "Stupid wings, No can't be comfortable in a chair," she thought.

                "Nope.  Surprisingly, it's at the least garish settings." Erika said.

                Ranma shuddered remembering that the template original made everything pink and glittery.  She shuddered again at the prospect that it could even get worse than _that_.   Compared to that is started out as, the roses weren't that bad. "God that's depressing," she remarked internally.

                "Find anything else useful?" Gos asked.

                "Not really.  I'm archiving the data nonetheless. It might come in handy later," Erika said looking up from the compact. She sighed, "You know Ranma you really should cross your legs."

                "Well, you are sitting right in front of her." Gos pointed out

                "Hey," Erika said.

                "Are you done yet? I want out of this thing." Ranma said, trying not to freak out. That little smile Allison had was especially disturbing.

                "Sure why not," Gos said.

                Ranma closed her eyes and reverted back to her default form.  The compact and glasses disappeared as well. "That's better.  I really should blame you for all this," she said to the hologram.

                "Perhaps. At least I can help make your curse easier to live with."

                "So I can change at will?"

                "Yeah, and it'll fix your clothes so you won't end up wearing a dress as a guy."

                Allison knew all about the upgrades to the curse, and the opportunity they presented. "Hey Erika can I have a copy of the curse?" Allison asked pulling a zip disk out of her purse.

                "Okay, why not?" she said, putting the offered disk into the drive.

                After the disk ejected, Allison grabbed the disk and ran out of the room and up the stairs.

                "I think that was a very bad idea," Ranma observed.

                "The curse is easy enough to remove. What's the worst she could do."

                "Why must you constantly fail?" Rebecca asked, her irritation almost slipping out

                "Huh?' Ryouga responded.    They were sitting across from each other at a table on the back porch of Rebecca's place.  He was wary at first, but as they talked he realized that she was a kindred spirit.  She'd heard of Ranma and knew what kind of threat he possessed.  She confirmed his suspicions, provided support for his theories. It only took a little coaxing and he told everything, while she listened silently occasionally making a note on her laptop.  Being a world traveler the language problem was minimized.  His accent was a strange mix of Canadian and Japanese.

                But this question grated on him.  It seemed out of place as if someone else was asking it.  Somewhere in his mind a little flag of warning popped up, but it was quickly forgotten.

                "I apologize if my question was worded poorly," she said again in that pleasant and understanding voice.  "It's just that you seem to be just as good as this Ranma, perhaps even better, but he always beats you.  From all the fights you've told me, you haven't really ever won. I'd like to know why."

                "I see, once I know how he keeps beating me, I can counter and I'll win."

                "Exactly," she smiled, careful to let him reach his own conclusions.

                "I already know what's wrong.  I turn into a pig, and get lost easily."

                "That and you're a naïve, trusting, fool, with bipolar disorder; that'll spill his guts quicker than a drunken Irishman in a confessional," Rebecca thought to herself. If Rebecca had possessed any empathy she would have taken pity on his rather pathetic loneliness and obsession.

                Ryouga was thinking.  According to Rebecca Ranma had fled to Wyoming in order to find the colony of mages who lived in the area.  Trying to find a cure for his curse, and undoubtedly looking for ways to gain power.  

                The lost boy was determined to bring this fiend to justice.  Ranma wasn't just a jerk, a simple enemy, a bane to Ryouga's existence, he was also a murderer. Ranma had killed his father when there was nothing left to learn from him, and ran off.  The coroner had said it was a heart attack, but Ryouga knew that there were pressure points that could simulate that form of death.  And Ranma's actions proved that it wasn't a natural death.  Who flees the country but a guilty man?

                It all made sense, all the pieces fit… 

                if you were to make the right assumptions.  And this beyond any curse or handicap was Ryouga's failing.  It was the same blindness that the others in Nerima shared.   Forcing evidence to fit your irrational delusions.  A shortcoming that Rebecca conveniently and consciously glossed over.

                 "But if I become free of those curses.  Then I will surely win."

                 "You stand a much better chance." Rebecca allowed.

                 "But how will I be rid of them?" Ryouga asked, knowing that he had a problem didn't solve it. 

                 "Remember that colony of mages," Rebecca offered.

                 "You're one of them."

                 "Yes, and I will help you. With my assistance you will overcome your problems." Rebecca promised.

                 "But why will you help me?"

                 "If what you say is true then you are the closest match to Ranma.  You are the only person with hope of defeating him." Rebecca said, nor really answering his question and technically not lying.

                 "So you want him beaten too, but I can't just take you're help as a charity, I'll have to repay you."

                 "Oh you don't need to do that," Rebecca replied,  Damn the fish was jumping right into the boat.

                 "I insist.  There has to be some way I can help."

                 "If I think of something I'll tell you."

                 "Alright It's a deal"

                 "Good," Rebecca said leveling her gaze at him, "there is much that needs to be done."

                Some will sell their souls for just about anything.  If Ryouga had been a more careful he wouldn't have used his as a bargaining chip for a chance at revenge.

                While even Rebecca  herself has yet to grasp the full implications of her actions. Things are building up.  Her hold on Ryouga is fragile now.   All he needs do is talk to anyone else, to learn the truth, and her intricate web will fall apart.  Even a glimpse of what was on her screen could have soured the deal.  On it was a feed from one of her watchers, cloaked robots used for surveillance, among other things

                It was monitoring the O'Neil place, and happened to recorded a conversation between subject 1 and Spore, that arrogant self proclaimed hacker.   Rebecca knew that Spore was aware of her presence.  His eyes kept going back to where the watcher was.  The meant that Spore wanted Rebecca to have this information.  It was a way of saying  that he knew about the organic tech.

                But there was something else.  Yes Spore was talking about the situation in Japan.  He specifically mentioned that Ryouga was missing. Could he know that the lost boy is here? Could he have been the one who sent him?

                No that was too paranoid.  It was simple coincidence that she got subject, so why couldn't subject 2 fall into her lap as well.

                She had to act fast if this were to work.

                Ranma was sitting on the floor munching on a bag of pretzels.  Unfortunately Ranma still needed water to change and had gotten the bag while in the kitchen.  When he returned to the den, he'd found out that Gos and Erika were in what used to be a, dining room, with Sarah.   They were fiddling with the bank of servers in the room.  Well Erika and Sarah were working Gos was watching and making comments.

                Ranma's technical knowledge had grown since he'd moved here (from virtually nothing to the basics of usage) but the others were still light years ahead of him.  It was similar to the difference in ability between Ranma and a non martial artist.

                "So when is Reno coming back?" Sarah asked hitting a hard drive with large pipe wrench.

                "Around three." Gos said.

                "You shouldn't abuse components like that." Erika observed.

                "It's not my fault the case rusted to the bracket," Sarah grumbled, still smacking the now warped drive. "Allison was the one that used this tower as a doorstop."

                "That's odd, but still," Gos said, imagining a tower case wedged in front of a door.

                "It was during a thunder storm."

                "Oh-kay," Gos said.

                "There's something wrong with that girl," Erika noted putting the cover back on one of the other computers in the server room.

                "You have no idea," Sarah said finally managing to pry the drive off. "So what does Reno do?" she then asked.

                "He's the IT guy for a geological engineering and survey team," Gos said.

                "Oh why?"

                "I don't know why he works," Gos noted. "I think it's a way to keep the IRS off his back."

                "Wait, wouldn't he be working to, you know, make money," Ranma said.

                Gos chuckled, "Come on Ranma. You think that any of us couldn't just _get_ money if we wanted too.  I can break into the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Reserve undetected. Do you honestly think a bank would be that much of a problem" 

                "Or if you prefer a less illegal approach, insider trading is nice.  It's amazing what you'll find on 'secure' corporate servers," Sarah said.

                "So you get money illegally," Ranma said.

                "Well yeah," admitted Gos, "But come on, you break the law whenever you hack. You've had your share of property damage and trespassing."

                "Yes but, nothing I ever did was a felony."

                "What about that time you ruptured a gas main."

                "That wasn't my fault."

                Sarah raised an eyebrow.

                "You don't want to know," Erika simply said.

                "Isn't it hypocritical for you to accuse your hacker of stealing from you when you've stolen programs, information, and money," Ranma stated angrily.

                "Chill Ran-Man," a girl's voice said coming from the living room.

                Ranma turned around.  There was only one person that used that nickname.  From the living room came a girl in between Alison and Sarah in height, probably a hair taller than Erika, with lose brown hair that came down to her neck, red eyes, and wearing an oversized shirt that came to mid thigh showing of a very nice body.

                "Dear God," Sarah said.

                "Allison turned you into a girl. Why?" Ranma said.

                "The curse is not a toy." Gos said.

                "Hey I didn't do it.  Blame her," Dan said.

                "You are uninstalling it right?" Sarah asked.

                "Probably not," the neo-girl said.

                "What!" Ranma exclaimed. "Okay I still have it because without it I'd be a girl. Gos has is because of Erika. But you don't need it."

                "Oh come on especially with that upgrade package of Gos'-"

                "Hey I wrote that," Erika interrupted.

                "-sorry, but the point is that now it's not a curse.  You can change at will and have none of the expected complications," Dan said.  She then changed back returning to her normal height, hair length, reddish brown eye tint, clothes and gender.  "Erika you are a genius," he said.

                "Yeah so," Erika said, of course she was smarter than these meat bags. "Oh can't think that way, you're a meat bag to now, sometimes." She reminded herself.

                "Wait you like being a girl." Ranma said skeptically. "Shouldn't you be pissed at this latest prank of Allison's?"

                "Nope."

                "In the name of buddy Christ, NO," Sarah said figuring it out.

                "It's not like that," Dan said.

                "Yes it is.  Allison turned you into a girl for the sex!" she exclaimed.

                "That would explain why he's okay with it," Gos observed.

                Erika glared at him.

                "Sorry, but you know…" the pale boy trailed off.

                "How could you two do anything. I mean you've only got one body between you, -ah I see." Dan said.

                "Well no it's not like that," Gos said nervously.

                "Quiet you," Erika said.

                "Why must our friends be this way?" Sarah groaned to Ranma

                "You're asking me?" Ranma laughed, then added " I didn't know Allison swung that way."

                "Look she may have done some experimenting before we met, but,"

                "Dan, she dated that Langley girl for four months," Sarah said flatly.

                "Ok fine then.  She's bi.  So what?  This way I can be closer to her."

                "Well that makes sense." Gos said.

                "Well that's because your girlfriend is _in_ your head," Sarah stated coolly.

                "Our head."

                "Whatever."

                "Look Sarah you've known that Allison and I have been active for some time now.  So what that we've decided to mix it up now."

                "I suppose you're right, but it's like I can't know any guys who aren't girls too."

                Gos, Ranma, and Dan looked at each other. Until Dan finally admitted, "Huh that _is_ odd." 

                "So Dan any, problems with you curse? You know with water or anything else." Ranma asked.

                "Nope," Dan said after switching to his girl form

                "So once again  I get screwed.  Oh the upgrade works for you and Holo-boy not for me."

                "It's not that bad.  All that failed to load completely were the triggers. You've still got the clothing separation," Gos said.

                "So what's the problem," Dan asked, pulling her hair out of her face. The only thing about what Allison did that irked her.

                "It's a funny thing.  Instead of replacing the old triggers the new ones simply merged with them in Boolean gates," Erika said.

                Dan blinked. "I really need some coffee," she said walking out of the room.  The room fell silent until she returned with the pot and a straw.

                "You do know that's been on all day," Sarah said.

                "So," Dan said drinking the partially congealed beverage.

                "As I was saying, the upgrade didn't quite work in Ranma, I think it's because of his template but I'm not sure.  Anyway the result is that will or water will do it."

                "Hey Ran-Man didn't that old nut who taught you English say something about mental control of the curse."

                "Yes Cologne said that Jusenkyou curses are affected by mental states.  A focused mind can control it blah, blah, blah." Ranma said.

                "And then you got imprinted, and that went to hell," Sarah said next.

                "Oh crap" Erika muttered.

                "That could explain a few things," Gos said. "You should have told us about this before we installed the upgraded curse."

                "So what happened now?" Ranma asked cynically.

                "Essentially a huge resource conflict. First there's the curse's original programs, then there's the effect your will and ego have had on it, add in a template that we can't edit, and finally mix in an upgrade package that'll try to override everything else."

                "Ouch, that sucks," Dan said, draining the pot of the last of the liquid.  She then started using the straw to scoop out the resin left on the bottom.

                "So all these things are bidding for the same patch of code," Ranma said.

                "Yeah it's a hierarchical nightmare," Gos said. "Well at least all that's being wonky is the triggers. Hell the damn thing might even stabilize."

                "So how's it work now?" Dan asked.

                "Well to go girl, all I need to do is think it, but cold water will do it too, and to go back I have to use hot water _and_ will it to happen."

                "That's not any worse that before, cold'll still turn you into a girl, and yah still need hot to get back."

                "Yeah but it's almost as if the curse wants me to be girl."

                "Ranma how many times have you been splashed at an really bad time," Gos said.

                "Point taken." Ranma then turned to Dan, "So what's Allison up to."

                The caffeine addicted, master mechanic, burnout smirked.

                "Do you really want to know?" Sarah interrupted before Dan could speak.

                Ned parked the fire engine red truck in front of Rebecca's house. The stenciling on the doors of the large turbo diesel pickup illustrated that while it was Ned's vehicle the ownership was not in his name.  On each of the doors was a large and stylized WIC with the words Winston Industrial Container under them.

                As family businesses go Winston Industrial Container was one of the largest.  Headquartered in Cheyenne, a city in the eastern part of  Wyoming  near the Colorado border, it is the main supplier of construction and freight containers  in Wyoming, Utah,  and Montana, and has considerable footholds in parts of Colorado, Nebraska, Idaho, and South Dakota.  If one were to look chances are that they would find one of their dumpsters at any construction site in the Northern Rockies.

                Winston Industrial Container did more than lease industrial and construction dumpsters.  They had also spread into recycling taking the scrap metal and other debris that their clients filled their containers with.  They sorted the scrap and sold what the could, a surprisingly high percentage, and the rest was trucked, using their fleet of heavy haulers, to vast storage depots, until a profitable use was found for them.

                Being connected to such a business was the only reason that Ned had even considered working with Golems.  He needed a considerable supply of metals, ceramics,  and other compounds to carry out his experiments.  Having reached an understanding with his great uncle Bob, a former resident of Lockridge and founder of Winston Industrial Container, Ned was able to acquire all the scrap he needed, and use company funds to purchase the necessary fabrication machinery.

                Building Golems whether they were mechs, areotech, or any other form of Calash enhanced robotics was expensive and time consuming.  This was why Rebecca's Guymelef disturbed him so.

                Despite having access to considerable recourses there were still some parts Ned couldn't get though the company.    Certain polymers and alloys that are traditionally not used in building construction for example.  Somehow Rebecca was able to acquire these materials.  Ned didn't know how she did it and until recently didn't care.

                This was how they reached their agreement Rebecca would give Ned the parts he sorely lacked and in return  he would give her schematics and an occasional bot.  

                Ned was growing very concerned about Rebecca.  He didn't have all the information, but ever since Sarah O'Neil's twin sister came back from Japan, Rebecca's been rather erratic.  Well that's not true ever since that fiasco with the Terson girl, she'd been more distant, hell it probably went as far back as when Rebecca's parents died.

                But now... God attacking the school with a mech that she supposedly built in one night (Ned remembered that Voltron comment).  He knew she was insanely good, almost god-like, but at hacking into systems, not building Golems.  Ned doubted that even he could do it in one night.  He could do it in two, after all it was a relatively small mech.

                Ned was here to cancel their deal, granted it was a little like closing the barn door after the cows got out, but he wanted to get some distance between himself and Rebecca.  A storm was brewing.

                After turning the truck around, he got out, and started walking toward the front door, dressed in his now standard May Payne gear.  He'd gotten the idea off of that Arzish fellow, dress exactly the same as your template so no one will know if you're active.

                Once at the door he opened it without knocking.  That he'd gotten this far was evidence that Rebecca knew fully of his presence.  He'd consulted her during one of her security upgrades and knew just how intense they were.

                Stepping into the house Ned was reminded of the game he based his template on.  As usual the foyer was almost empty except for some hideous metal sculpture that looked like it was fished out of one of his family's dumpsters.

                He turned left into what probably was a dining room.  All that was in this one was a hideous lamp in the shape of a fish sitting on the floor, giving off a feeble light.  The house was silent..  He could almost hear background music.  From the foyer one could only go into the dining room (Ned had tried, all the other doors were locked) and from that room there was one door that lead to the rest of the house.

                Ned walked up to it, his hand going to the knob.  Part of him was ready to jump through the opening, guns firing. He turned it, and was rewarded with another darkened room about the same size as the last. "God what's she left this time," Ned groaned walking up to the objects in the center off the room. Under the dim light of yet another fish lamp, he found four DVDs surrounding one book.  Ned was familiar with all the titles The Matrix, eXistenZ, Fight Club, Dark City, and Desperation.

                "Now what does this mean?" he asked, mostly to himself.  Every time he came here Rebecca would leave little presents on one of these rooms and then ask him questions about them. At first Ned was baffled, as this seemed unusual for someone so collected and cool as Rebecca to be playing these games, but after a few visits he realized that to her these were experiments, like running a rat through a maze or paying a college student twenty bucks to fill out a survey on binge drinking or drug abuse.  And in that light this game made prefect sense.

                He looked at the next door, across the room from the last one.  It was the last of the three puzzle rooms. Ned waited pondering what the first two meant.  The first one was completely empty, early on Rebecca explained that the fish lamps didn't count and would always be there.  The next had those movies and that book. Could it be the perception of reality? Each of the movies dealt with the question of what is real. But what about the book it was in the center.  That was just a story about a demon in Nevada that could possess people. With that thought the fragments clicked.

                In the Matrix Neo went from being Tomas Anderson to the one. In eXistenZ a game programmer  and a technician fleeing from terrorist ended up being the ones who killed the "real" game programmers. In Fight Club the main character learned the truth about Tyler Durden.  In Dark City a simple man  discovered that his memories and past were manufactured.

                Yes all five dealt with the Vorlon's favorite question: Who are you?

                "Now was the  first room or the last one the answer?" Ned thought as he opened the next door.

                "Hello Winston," Rebecca said when the door was open.

                Ned stepped back, every other time Rebecca had waited behind the final door that was off to the left and went into the kitchen.

                "Sorry, but I have a friend who just got in from Canada staying tonight that needs the room."

                "Right," Ned said as he followed her to the kitchen. Regardless he examined the room closely, noting that  there was a glowing fish lamp between a rather large backpack and a bedroll

                Sitting down at the kitchen table Rebecca asked her question, "So what do you want for your next shipment?"

                Taking the seat next to her, Ned looked at the girl evenly.  He had to tread carefully now. "I'm thinking of pulling out."

                "Really, are you aware of the repercussions?" she asked with a face that a diplomat, or a card shark, would admire.

                "No," he replied honestly with a poker face of his own. "But neither are you. The law of unintended consequences applies to us all."

                "I see.  Might I ask why you wish to withdraw?"

                Ned was prepared. "I believe that neither of us need this agreement anymore. As recent events have shown, we are both quite capable on our own."

                "I know such things to be true on my end, and that you have secured a supply of the parts you so desperately lack.  Given your experience in the salvage industry, I have no doubts that you can make this supply last, but it is still finite."

                Ned ignored the insult. She was angry and afraid.  But oddly not angry that her mech had been defeated, but that it had fallen into his hands. Why? Not because he had got supply of parts.  Ned could have used other sources Rebecca was just the easiest. Then why? Perhaps it was what he could learn from the remains.  Yes there was the fear.  She was afraid that he'd figure out how she did it.

                He prepared his response, "Ah but you see I have other contacts that I can use to cover my loss.  However you lack the tools to machine what I offer to the equation."

                "Recent events prove contrary to you last statement."

                "Indeed they do.  Remember that I also provide design schematics which you would no longer have access to."  Knowing full well Rebecca's abilities Ned kept all his "working" files on a computer that had never been networked to anything and was stored in a secure location.

                "I can deal without them," she said a little too sharply

                "Good, we are in agreement then."

                "It would seem that way."

                "I will be leaving then," Ned said getting up. She'd taken this better than he'd hoped.

                "You aware that without this agreement, you will have lost the intangible benefits that came along with it." Rebecca said still maintaining her cool. Damn this righteous prick.  She could manage without his designs, but it would have been easier if he'd have stayed on.

                "That's the problem with intangibles you never know when you've got them," Ned said allowing a slight smirk.

                "It is your loss," she said letting a little bit of her rage slip out.  The insolence. God how she wanted to kill him right now. 

                "So where is this friend of yours?" Ned asked changing the subject.

                "Out," she replied curtly, lying to him for the first time.

                Ned looked at his watch, "I must be going too.  It was a pleasure doing business with you."  He then turned and walked out of the house the same way he'd came.

                Rebecca watching him depart.  Frozen between sending her watchers to eliminate him and doing nothing.   In the end she let him drive off unhampered.   If the watchers failed then she'd have someone as skilled and relentless as Max Payne with a dash of mecha thrown in.  It was too great a risk. And besides if she killed him she would never figure out why he canceled the deal.

                That was what irked her most of all, not what she lost with the cancellation of the deal, but the reasons that it had happened. She was supposed to be able to predict him, to lead him, to control him.  That was why she set up all those stupid riddles.

                The law of unintended consequences.  Why was she afraid of that?

                As Ned drove back to the compound  he noted to increase security at home and the shop.  He also pondered the three rooms. Rebecca made it seem that the third one wasn't part of it, but there was the fish.  An empty room, a room that asked who and what you are, and a room that has the possessions of a Canadian and Rebecca.

                Ned knew that Rebecca winged it and had never been contusive to planning or long term strategy.   But things were building up:  Unintended consequences, chaos complexity, the butterfly effect.  Despite having only fragments Ned was able to see that the foundations had already been laid, and that Rebecca was set on her path.  That no one knew where this path would lead, even Rebecca, was  beyond horrifying, beyond dangerous.  Ned remembered that those movies and books had another link.  In each of them the world as we know it is fundamentally changed.

Ned was sure that he had made the right choice.  

End chapter

Thanks to my Pre-readers 

S. Metcalf, Akraen  akraen@hotmail.com, 

Reisbeck, John richexs@bigfoot.com, grammer

"wrayloflin"wrayloflin@yahoo.com,  grammar, counteragent plot hole

Jerry starfire@brainerd.net: the whole 'rose' idea

Jakub jpilecki@poczta.fm  how Gos gained potential

Merritt, James j.merritt1@home.com , general C&C

La Valley , Jay  acidjack@infi.net ,

Andrew Painter, ranko@blueyonder.co.uk 


	6. Release Dates

Chapter 6 – Release Dates

"I see a great hand reaching out of the stars." Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

            The Winston compound was to the west of Lockridge. It was positioned on the end of Teakettle Ridge, a jutting finger of land that crept out of the mountains that surrounded the area. Instead of gently slopping into the valley, Teakettle ended abruptly with a plateau bordered by a crescent of cliffs. The Winston compound was on this plateau.

            One of the first structures built in the area: the compound was originally Fort Teakettle. Over the course of over two hundred years, its been a trading post, small mountain hamlet, military base, monastery, logging site, and recently the cooperate retreat for Winston Industrial Container. It was an expedition from Fort Teakettle that discovered the standing circle and founded Lockridge. 

            Robert Winston owner of WIC may have moved the main offices to Cheyenne when the corporation went big, but his heart was still in the region. Maintaining the compound was the responsibility to the Winstons that stayed behind, a full time job considering the compound consisted about dozen buildings each having been modified or added on to over time. Perched on the abrupt end of the ridge the collection of stone structures looked almost like a castle.

            Out of its field, Winston Industrial Container is overlooked and dismissed. However in the field of demolitions salvage and refuse container leasing, it is considered innovative and groundbreaking. Its size alone was amazing, for it controlled almost all of the Northern half of the Rockies, and is still growing. WIC has few competitors that could even come close to matching it. The downside is that WIC is very much a niche company, limited to its region and field. Granted it was very successful, but Robert wanted more. Which was why he gave his grand nephew an open door to company recourses. Too old to be proficient in Calash himself, but he fully understood the power it represented. In time Winston Industrial Container will branch out into a very new field.

***************      

            Ned's apartment was in the second floor of the South building. Consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen nook, it was a bit smallish, but it was his. There was another apartment on the floor belonging to his younger sister Julie. Their father had died when they were both young, an accident involving a dumpster that was improperly tied down, and until recently they had lived in the main house, a building in the center of the compound with their mother. She then got transferred to HQ in Cheyenne. Neither of her children wanted to leave Lockridge, and with the promise that their relatives would watch them, they were allowed to move into the South building, normally reserved for vacationing WIC executives, and clients the corporation was entertaining. 

            The compound also had an auditorium, several conference rooms, a small theater, a bar and restaurant, a little grocer's store, several suites and overnight rooms, a physical plant with backup generators, a large garage and repair shop, a motor pool with snow ploughs and other company vehicles, and a helipad for those who wish to be flown in. Fairly isolated and self contained, it was the perfect place for a vacation executive wanting to get away, or any one else. In the right circles, WIC is notorious for taking prospective clients on expansive hunting or fishing trips.

            The compound is also useful for business conferences and industry summits. The compound was Robert Winston's ace in the hole. One didn't expect a trash hauling company: even a very big one catering only to demolition, construction, and industry, to have something like this. But WIC is unique.

***************

            Ned was on the couch lazily watching television. He had spent the last week doing nothing but beefing up security. It wasn't hard to convince his cousin Dave, head of the compound's, small but highly competent, security force, to approve of the changes. Dave Albert (his mother was the sister of Ned's father) was the type of person who'd wear a tinfoil hat, if it wasn't for the dress code required of WIC security. As to why they even needed an internal security force…

            There was a knock on the door. Ned groaned as he got up. It was probably Dave undoubtedly griping about how animals kept setting off new perimeter net. _God Damn it,_ he thought while walking towards the door. "Yes it's my fault that he had to send a team out just because a deer got a little too close to the cliff. He _could just check out the alerts, using the cameras, but no they might have been compromised. Paranoid loon."_

             Ned looked though the fish eye, before opening the door. Granted, while the chances of someone getting inside were low, the chances of getting in undetected were next to nil. Ned had designed and built most of Rebecca's precious watchers. He was the master of Golem-tech, and the compound was his domain. It couldn't hold off the military, but anything else wouldn't stand a chance, for Security Chief Albert had carefully chosen his men, all of them had the best templates WIC personnel could code and more importantly were well trained, good men loyal to the family.

            Like the rest of Winston Industrial Container, Albert had no idea why they need such security, his team made sense as they were near Lockridge, and headquarters needed some protection, but the rest? At least his were the only teams that had templates. He didn't complain however, overkill security was a good thing for him.

            Seeing who was at the other side of the door, Ned opened it without hesitation.

            "About time you got the door son," the man at the door said. Robert Winston was a portly fellow who could switch from good old boy to ruthless business man instantly. Ned always thought his great uncle bore a strong likeness to an older version of "News Radio's" Jimmy James.

            Ned looked to see Dave in his red and gray jumpsuit standing next to the President of Winston Industrial Container. "Guess I didn't hear your chopper come in."

            Stepping inside, "Really? Well someone knew I was coming. You wouldn't have anything to do with my chopper's approach being challenged, would you?"

            "Sir, the orders are to investigate every approach on compound grounds." Security Chief Albert responded, still outside of the apartment.

            "I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the bonehead that decided it was a good idea to turn this place into a fortress. We're _trying_ to keep a low profile. Wouldn't our visitors find it suspicious that a company in our field would have such extravagant security?"

            "But the secure net is concealed, most of the staff doesn't even know its here, let alone the handful of visitors we get," Ned said in his defense.

            "What about the entry checkpoints you've undoubtedly set up?"

            "They're as unobtrusive as possible. Look, the point of these new features isn't so much to keep anything out, but to give us an early warning."

            "About what?"

            Ned simply looked at the open door.

            "Dave please wait outside," Bob sighed.

            "Sir?"

            "Need to know." Bob said as he closed the door.

            "This should prevent anyone form listening in," Ned said fiddling with what appeared to be a home security keypad.

            "If you insist on the cone of silence," Robert Winston said while thinking, _Oh boy, this should be good._

            Ned explained Rebecca's recent actions, and the cancellation of the deal.

            An experienced businessman, Bob managed to keep his face neutral. He had known of the deal with that girl, and had approved of it. If his company had started buying _those_ materials, it would look rather suspicious. But if this girl was upsetting the balance in Lockridge that could cause his corporation problems. WIC needed to be somewhat low profile before he made his move. Bob didn't really care about mech's they were just icing on the cake, a way to get in the government's good graces. No, the real money would come from all the little things Ned had to have invented, just to make a mech work. 

            After the appropriate delay, Bob spoke. "I came here today, to speak before the town fathers. Despite the fact that WIC is entirely mundane, except for some of the staff and facilities here, they believe that this company could be a danger to town security. I can not have you or any one else involved in a feud. Especially if giant robots were to be involved."

            "But Rebecca's unstable, she might attack."

            "Then yes, you could defend yourself or the compound, but please try to keep the situation contained."

            Ned looked at the older man. He knew why they paid for his workshop and the parts. "Right," then changing the subject, "So how's business?"

            "Good. There's a bridge demolition in St. Anthony that we're covering."

            "Ah so we got into Idaho," Ned said contemplating the steel coming his way.

            "There was also a rail crash up North in Thermopolis, some pretty rude stuff."

            Ned nodded WIC also leased container for hazardous materials transport. Although with HAZMAT, WIC just shipped it, they didn't dispose of it.

            "And there's the standard construction and industry work."

            "Right, well it's good to see things are on track."

            "Yes well, I must be leaving," opening the door Bob looked back, "Remember be careful."

            Ned watched him walk down the hall to the stairs with Dave following him.

            "What was that about?" Julie said form her door, at the far end of the hall.

            "Just visiting," was the succinct reply.

            "You doing anything today?"

            "Nah, taking the day off."

            "But you skipped all week."

            "I was doing other things."

            "Fine. Anyway I was wondering if you were up for a death match?"

            "Mech Warrior custom version?"

            "What else," she responded rhetorically.

            "Why do you want to play that? Name one time I didn't wipe the floor with you."

            "You'll see"

***************

            Ranma was in the den, working at a laptop. He was currently running notepad, MS Developer Studio, a Clash interpreter, some other miscellaneous compilers. He also had some books, next to him entitled: _Cobol and You: Partners in Freedom, Someone's in the Kitchen with C++, and_ Assembly: The Wave of the Future_. Ranma rubbed his forehead, at the disturbed, almost hallucinatory text. He had no idea where Sarah dug up these tomes._

            It was his own damn fault. He did ask Sarah to teach him how to program. Ranma didn't expect it to be so mind numbingly dull. Sighing he looked over the code for his latest project. So far he'd worked in Java script, Basic and FORTRAN, but this program was a replica of an old infiltrate and observe program Sarah had written, in C for some reason.

            Ranma readied his compiler, knowing that this time it would work. He loaded the file, compiled it, and…

…got the blue screen of death. Before he could read the warning, the screen flashed red, black, and then a sickly green that slowly faded to black.

            "In god's name why won't you work?" the pigtailed boy said in an eerily calm voice.

            The computer in front of him remained blank.

            Maintaining his composure, Ranma calmly hit the restart button.

            The notebook-shaped device remained inert.

            "Damn your insolence! You _will pay!" the martial artist and neophyte programmer exclaimed. After closing and flipping over the object, Ranma punched its underside lightly. After righting it, he hit the button again._

            Nothing.

            Ranma's eye twitched, his mind succumbing to what programmers refer to as "code rage." A burning anger that develops when a computer despite all logic, simply refused to cooperate. Normally it happens when a program refuses to work, but it can extend to other aspects of computing. Images danced in Ranma's mind of tossing the computer into a chipper-shredder, dousing the plastic and metal shards in kerosene, and then feeding the burnt and melted ashes to a pack of rabid wolverines. His hand shaking, he pushed the button one more time.

            He felt the minute resistance build up as he compressed the spring behind the button. After it clicked softly, Ranma withdrew his extended digit.

            The box was unresponsive.

            Ranma gripped the closed laptop on either side. Yes, all he had to do was flex it just right, and snap- all his problems would be over.

            "No that's not right," he thought looking at the black plastic case. Then in that very quite voice "If I do that the program wins.  And that's _exactly what __they want me to do" Ranma put the device down , opposite his books, stood up, and walked into the kitchen._

            "Hey Sarah? My comp locked up when I tried to compile something, and now it won't restart," Ranma said entering the room.

            "Have you tried hitting it?" she asked, sitting at the table.

            "Several times."

            "How about a good swift kick?" Sarah suggested.

            "Might work," Ranma commented.

            "Ran-Man has a box?" the semi-conscious thing, across the table, mumbled.

            "Yeah I gave him my old laptop."

            "I see," Dan said, still slumped on the table.

            Turning to her brother, "There's still the problem as to why it crapped out in the first place."

            "One of the those books warned something like this might happen. I think it was the cookbook," Ranma proposed.

            "Wait," Dan said, the lag in his brain diminishing. "You're programming? Sarah are you sure that's a good idea."

             The half-Irish redhead ignored her cousin and thought for a moment. "What project were you on when this happened?"

            "That intercept and infiltrate one."

            Dan raised his eyebrows at Sarah.

            "But isn't that a bit ambitious?"

            "The project just before it worked fine."

            "The A Type encryption bypass?" Sarah asked

            "Yeah, so?"

            "My god you're not a L4M3R," Dan stated, somehow managing to correctly pronounce the "word."

            "What?"

            "Come on Ranma. You're writing programs. Now granted that's a ways from being L33T, but you've climbed up the ladder pretty quick."

            "What the basic principles for programming are the same with every language; the syntax is just different. Once you understand the style of a language you can figure out how to get it to do what you want."

            "Yeah that's about how it works," Sarah admitted. "But how did you figure that out?"

            "I am a martial artist," Ranma stated as if to answer the question.

            Sarah and Dan looked at each other in awkward silence.

            Dan was the first to speak, "Let's see in order to hack you must be able to improvise, plan your strategy, posses stealth, be fully aware of your environment, have a vast library of programs and apps, and the wisdom to know which to use and when." Dan paused. "I can see the parallels, but I didn't think that those skills would be transferable."

             "The ONE thing Genma gave me was my training. The cost however was."

            "Remember bro, if the panda bastard didn't do what he did, I wouldn't exist." Sarah's face turned grim, "I will never condone what he did, and I'm glad he's dead, but his actions had consequences far beyond his knowledge."

            "A butterfly flaps its wings and all that." Dan said as he got up and walked toward the coffee machine. He filled his cup. "So what? Did your training focus on adaptability?"

            "Essentially. Anything could be interpreted as a martial art."

            "Martial Arts Coding?" Sarah said skeptically.

            "No more ludicrous than martial arts tea ceremony or any other number of insane esoteric schools out there." 

            "It's not that odd, remember the L33T Master?" Dan pointed out.

            "Who?"

            "A wise man of great S[1LLZ," Dan said, again managing to verbalize the "L33T"

            "It's just a comic," Sarah responded.

            "Largo is real."

             "No 'Largo' is the pen name of the old writer for the comic, who just happens to be _based on one of the main characters."_

             "So you agree the L33t Master is real."

             "That's not what I said!"

            Ranma watched the argument escalate. He shook his head and walked back to the couch. Picking up his laptop he held it just above his right foot. Releasing his grip, he dropkicked it. There was the resounding crack of plastic breaking as the computer flew in a short arc. It hit the backrest of the sofa near its apex and landed near the edge of the seat cushion. Ranma then poked the machine.

            It responded with a gentle chime and the wiring sound of a hard drive spinning up. 

            Ranma smiled as the machine started up. _So, that's all I needed to do, Ranma thought, sitting down the machine in front of him. __Now why'd this thing die on me? he thought opening his source code._

Ranma was working on what he thought was the problem, gently muttering to himself. "Yes I think this protocol was corrupting my buffer or Bios or some-such thing. No this loop needs to end at I equals J+N not when it's greater than. Damn, why the hell is this function calling _that?_" Ranma looked up hearing someone else walking in the room. "Allison don't," he said, addressing the invisible girl that was probably in the room.

            "Damn you and your spider sense, Peter Parker," the disembodied voice replied.

            "That's nice and all, but I'm trying to do work here," Ranma said, his training allowing him to get a general idea of where her voice was.

            Ranma did not see the water coming. She then jumped up off the couch, twisting around to face where the water had come from. "What'd you do that for? Look you got the couch all wet, and you almost soaked my box," Ranma said looking at her computer. "Stay," she then said to the girl that might be in the room.

            Sarah was looking over at Dan, who was again sprawled out on the table. She turned to see her sister enter the room. "I see Allison's bored."

            "Yup," Ranma said distastefully putting her hand under the faucet.

            "Eh don't worry about it, she got me too," Dan said lifting his head up.

            "Really," Ranma said, turning off the tap. "But water doesn't affect you."

            "Remember that little trick of hers, you know the one that put you both in catholic school girl uniforms."

            "I've gotta see this," Sarah said.

            "Fine," Dan said getting up. "If you really want to find out," he said before shifting.

            "I see you're going for the punk look," Sarah observed

            Dan shrugged. Her hair had been pulled back, into a very short pony tail, except for two sets of bangs that hung on either side of her face, and were dyed a deep violet.. Her makeup was of the same color scheme and complemented her now red eyes. Allison had put her in at tight top and short skirt both back with gray accenting. Dan was also wearing platform boots and fishnets. She was still wearing a black trench coat except this one was cut to the smaller frame of her girl form. 

            "At least you can pull it off," Sarah commented appraising the girl. Then pulling at the few tendrils of loose hair, "Well she hasn't pieced your ears yet. Although, I wouldn't worry about it, after all Erika's pierced. Ah, but Allison did do your nails," Sarah said holding up Dan's hand.

            Dan rolled her eyes, "Yes, laugh all you want."

            "Come on _Dianna_, I've had to deal with her pranks for months, and now the shoe's on the other foot."

            "So are you still going to keep the curse?" Ranma said finally speaking up.

            "Of course, why not?" the punk girl replied.

            "But she put you in a skirt." Ranma said.

            "So, I don't really care about what I'm wearing. In fact I kind of like it."

            Ranma simply shuddered.

            "Whatever," Sarah said dismissively. She then tuned to an empty spot behind her. "Allison don't get any smart ideas."

            "How'd you know?"

            Sarah mumbled something inaudible and most likely rather rude.

            "What're you jealous?" the disembodied voice next to Sarah said. "You're boobs are still bigger than hers."

            Dan looked down at her chest.

            "I'm just a little shaken up at how well Dan's adapting," Sarah said pointing to her cousin.

            "What? Would you prefer if I freaked out?" Dan asked.

            Sarah sighed, "Ok let me put it this way. Ranma, how long did it take you to get used to your curse?"

            "You're kidding me, right?" Ranma responded dryly. 

             "First of all Ranma's curse was forced upon him, in addition to other circumstances that exacerbated things considerably. Now in my case the curse was—"

            Sarah cut her off. "Yes we all know what was done with you."

            After that statement the conversation died, and an awkward pause fell upon the room.

            "Um Allison," Dan said, breaking the silence. "Shouldn't you stop being invisible. You know so you don't go insane."

            "Yeah, yeah," Allison said, the quicksilver covering her body dissipating, rendering her visible. "What the…" she said looking out the window. "No couldn't be," she muttered, silver liquid appearing on her skin.

            "How's big red?" the gothic dressed girl asked.

            Stopping the flow, Allison looked down at her Ouroboros tattoo, it was entirely red except for the last two bars. "Oh crap."

            "Yes we can't have YOU going into quicksilver madness," Sarah commented.

            "This' happened before?" Ranma asked.

            Sarah nodded slightly.

            "Just let me do my eyes," Allison pleaded.  
            "What?" 

            "I thought I saw something, outside, something that I can't see now."

            "Like the cape wearing mech last week?"

            "I only got a glimpse but it was definitely smaller."

            "Fuck," Dan said to herself. "Allison scope out what's going on, just get a quick glace."

            Allison looked out the window into the back yard. Her eyes turned silver and disappeared.

            Ranma gazed into the empty sockets, disturbed.

            "BFG Now!" the eyeless girl shouted.

            In a dim flash Dan shifted into her male form, and then into template (Since the template was designed for Dan's male body much like Ranma's was designed for his girl side). In one motion he drew, racked, and tossed a rather large firearm from his ubiquitous coat.

            With equal fluidity Allison caught the weapon, aimed, and fired. Out of the rectangular hole in the barrel appeared a deceitfully dim beam, progressing much too fast for the human eye to discern. 

            The window appeared to shatter into a collection of coarse fragments simultaneous with the explosion of _something in the back yard._

            "Go! Clear it!" Dan shouted, pulling out two large handguns both with similar rectangular apertures at the ends.

            Reluctantly Ranma shifted into template. She turned to see Sarah in her power suit, motioning forward. The pseudo-magic girl nodded and pointed at the window.

***************

            Ned sat in the cockpit of his mech, waiting for the dropship to reach release attitude. His eyes shifted between the monitors. He checked that his headset was secured properly.  That the mike was lined up, it was plugged in, and that the cord was tucked up and out of the way.

            He then adjusted his controls making sure he could reach all the critical buttons easily. Ned saw the dropship's bay doors opening in front of him. His mech tensed up and when it could clear the gate, jumped.

            The ninety ton machine plummeted towards the earth like the rock it was, until the jumpjets kicked in. The pillars of flame reduced the descent so that the mech could land safely. Ned pulled up out of a kneeling position flipping out his Gauss riffle.

            "What the hell's she in this time," thought Ned as he moved his heavily modified Highlander IIC forward. "More importantly where are we?" he muttered scanning the surroundings.

            "Oh God no," Ned muttered as he crested a largish hill. Glittering below him was a large city of narrow spires.

            "Tokyo 3," he said, sounding out the syllables. A smirk grew on his face, "About time Julie came up with a challenging scenario."

***************      

            Rebecca saw her watcher explode. Part of her was surprised that it'd taken that long of them to figure it out another part was angered at the loss of data. She had other watchers in the area she could use. Her pointer hovered over the icon. One click and…

            Wait. No. What would that accomplish? What could that accomplish? If they were dead then she'd have lost all the progress she'd made with Subject One. And that was even if her watchers managed to do the job. 

            Rebecca inhaled, and raised her finger off the mouse button. She had to maintain her cool, no matter now much the antics of the Terson girl annoyed her. She hit the recall order pulling back her remaining forces. These watchers seemed to be out of the oppositions sensor range.

            She closed her notebook. Again the damage was contained and within acceptable limits. It was about time to go talk to the Hibiki boy again. What would she say today? 

How about that while she can't _remove_ the curse without further study, she might be able to _replace it with one that was more convenient._

***************

            Ranma scanned the forest, her glasses only picking up background static. "I'm reading blank."

            "Same here," Sarah said, her visor extended, standing opposite Ranma 

            "Yeah but Ranma's the one that can see the things," Dan said kneeling next to the burnt remains of the bot that was in the yard, centered in a triangle formed by the redheads and the house.

            "I could tell that there was something there, I just couldn't lock onto it."

            "I can see 'em too," Allison said, standing next to Dan, still holding the BFG.

            "Yes but you were down to one green click."

            "Hey I got my counteragent."

            "Better safe than sorry," Dan muttered. Lifting up a piece of twisted, burnt, and barely recognizable metal, "Well at least we know these new guns work."

            "Bah, you just ripped off mine," Sarah said.

            "Still."

            Ranma had phased out the conversation, instead using her compact to manipulate the sensor feed. Suddenly an ident-chevron appeared on the overlay. It was faint flickering in and out of lock-on, but it was there.

            Extending her wings she leapt up and forward trying to keep the signal.

            "Where's she going?" Allison asked.

            "I _told_ you wee needed radios or some type of com. system." Sarah said, powering her jumpjets.

            "Don't get too far." Dan warned.

            "I think I can outrun someone with wings," Sarah said before jetting off.

            "Fuck, how the hell did I lose it," the fuku-clad girl said landing in a clearing formed by a largish rock outcropping. The after being tracked a couple miles the echo simply vanished. "Great it's invisible and stealthy." She paused and looked around at the circle of trees surrounding the jutting boulders. "Damn it's barren out here." Ranma remarked. She turned to watch another echo approach, this time from the direction of the house.

            "It looks like Age of Empires finally got something right," Sarah remarked landing on one of the large gray stones, "And where'd you go off to?"

            "I was tracking one of those bots."

            "Should have told us."

            "Wasn't time."

            "I told him we needed communicators," Sarah repeated.

            "This is stupid," the angel girl remarked.

            "Pardon?"

            "Look all we've done is react to this hacker bitch. Granted except for my damn template, and Dan's arm, we've been successful, but we need to take the initiative!"

            "Oh I agree," Sarah remarked scanning the tree-line. "But we can't attack if we don't know who's doing this."

            Ranma glanced at her sister, "Yeah but it's just so damn frustrating. I mean even here I'm still not in control of my life."

            "You're still better off than when you were in Nerima."

            Ranma looked down at the tight, bow infested, sekifu, the little skirt, and heeled boots she was wearing. "God that's pathetic," she observed dryly.

            "That which does not kill us-"

            "-postpones the inevitable," Ranma completed jokingly.

            "I _was_ going to say, makes us stranger. But yours has a certain charm."

            "Fine let's go back," Ranma said spreading her wings.

***************

            Switching to dual joysticks, Ned waited for his next respawn. According to the mini-map this'll put him just outside the southern suburbs of the city. His thumbs rested just on the firing buttons. The gamer focused his eyes through the central monitor allowing the images displayed on the other two to blend in. 

            Monitoring his reduced rate of descent, Ned waited until he had locked onto his target. Then  he depressed his triggers, firing particle plasma charge rounds into his target.

            "Fuck!" Julie screamed as her Eva's umbilical was cut. Spinning around she brought up her rifle, a weapon longer than Ned's mech was tall. "I will not be defeated by something shorter than me!" she screamed into her headset unleashing high-energy particulate death.

            Ned didn't flinch at the approaching beam: instead he calmly tapped a button next to his weapons selector cutting his main jumpjets, while simultaneously pulling back on the right stick.

            Julie's attention was divided by the depleting power counter on her display and the black mech managing to drop below her beam. "You're not supposed to dodge that!"

            Ned ignored the ranting coming from his headset, and leaned forward hitting the ground in a roll. Switching to SRM pods he started to fire.

             Julie lowered her weapon in a "spray and pray" fashion and watched as the opposing mech dodge, while racks of missiles shot out to the machine's arms. Julie's Eva was pushed back by the repeating waves of super dense air colliding with the shield-like AT field. Continuing to watch the dwindling second counter, the brown haired girl tried to reacquire the smaller mech.    

            Glancing at her tactical field, she decided to plug in. She ran her Eva the couple blocks to the next umbilical jack. While vaulting over a building she turned to see a crouching black figure, one arm outstretched and steadied by the other. A forearm-mounted pulse cannon was powered up. 

            With only reserve energy left, Julie's Eva was unable to generate the protective field, his first shot broke her gun in half, the second and third were aimed at the neck. She managed to evade the burnt of the blast, but at the expense of a clean landing. 

            The forty meter tall red and yellow semi-organic machine thumbed through a handful of buildings. Partially covered in twisted metal and rubble the Eva managed to stop near the umbilical station.

            With only a few seconds left, Julie hit the corresponding hotkey, and managed to establish a connection. Now with a regular power supply the Eva jumped up and pulled a set of handgun styled weapons out of a nearby supply building.

            Julie leveled the guns at the black mech, firing. Ned responded by twisting down and leaping forward his own pulse cannons blazing. The Evangelion responded by leaning back and trying to fire into the dodging mech.

            The black mech landed in a roll, swiveled up launched another volley of SRMs. Once again connected to an entire power grid the Eva completely blocked the high explosives.

            Ned glared at the approaching bio-machine. He waited for the Eva to pause, reload and then Ned rushed. He went airborne to dodge the incoming shoot, while simultaneously using the pulse cannons. His first set took out the weapons Julie was carrying, the resulting shrapnel doing superficial to moderate damage to the machine's arms. 

            Jumpjets alerted the mech's path just enough so that on the downward arc, Ned was able to roll over and have a clear shoot at the umbilical jack.

             "No you don't," Julie said AT field flaring around her, as the black mech took its shot.

            Ned fired with his left arm just in time to see it collide harmlessly with the yellow and clear barrier. Calmly he aimed the cannon on his right arm to a spot where the Eva's power cable rested on the street.

             "Damn you," Julie said as her AT field collapsed. She reached behind her back to pull out the useless adapter, when a blast hit that exact spot. She heard the majority of the immense power jack fall to the ground, but her sensors indicated that the probe from the jack was still in. "You're going to fucking pay for that!" she screamed into her headset.

             "Chatty bitch should get on IRC if she wants to talk," Ned muttered mostly to himself, switching to his Gauss riffles.

            Julie charged despite the energy balls being launched at her from the black mech's railguns. With that damn shard of plug stuck in the receptacle a new jack couldn't be inserted. Meaning that what was left on the timer was all she had left. Pulling out a pair of progressive-knives, she prepared to get in close.

            Ned allowed a slight grin, changed to pulse canons and concentrated his fire. Just before the Eva got within striking distance with its trans-vibration blades, a section of its chest armor failed. In the proud tradition of pointless game gore, an amazing amount of reddish fluid spurted out of the broken armor, drenching the gutted buildings, and pouring into the shattered streets.

            As the spray died down Julie looked to see the smaller mech covered in what passed for the Eva's blood, still firing, but now it was within reach. Rushing high low with the blade from either side, she made her move.

            Reacting instantly, Ned fired his jumpjets and twisted to avoid the blades while aiming for the broken section of armor with his pulse cannon. Julie watched the smaller machine try to squirm away. And it almost would have made it if not for one thing.

             When Ned twisted out from between the progressive knives, he'd extended his arm to get a clear shot at the point where he'd burned through the Eva's armor. Ned gritted his teeth as the blade easily cut through his arm at the elbow.

            In and attempt to gain some space Ned cut his jumpjets. While switching to the last rack of SRM missiles, he fired.

            Julie was consumed with three thoughts: the imminently depleted power reserves, the point blank shockwaves consuming her, and plunging her knife into Dan's torso. On the ground Ned aimed his remaining pulse cannon at the Eva's left eye. He grinned slightly as he depressed an as yet unused button on his joystick.

            Normally Mech's generate a lot of excess heat. This is understandable when you have a walking fusion reactor. Having to shut down you're mech in during battle to prevent it from overheating and exploding is an experience any mech commander is familiar with. Naturally, Ned's mech has been extensively modified and had a way to compensate.

            One of the modifications was placement of a large power cell that siphoned and stored most of the excess power, diminishing the need to dump coolant or shut down the reactor. In reality such a system would be difficult, at best, to install, but in the simulation it was quite doable. The button he depressed opened flow to that power source, one that had been steadily growing.

            A pulsating beam of green death poured out of the pulse cannon, into the Eva's eye and straight our the back of it head. Fighting against the force-feedback in his controller, Ned started to drag the beam across the Eva's head.

            Julie's mind was empty save for the knives. Ignoring the alarms and concentrating solely on the job, she lurched forward. There was no time left.

            Ned's face became strained. Despite losing its power source, compromised armor in its chest, various other damages, and having a horizontal slit cut into its forehead, the Eva continued on. Ned had his own problems as well, out of missiles, missing an arm, his remaining pulse cannon was being fried by the surge of power, and there was another giant robot trying to gut him like a trout.

            Julie jabbed in nicking the side of Ned's torso. The black mech only slid to the side slightly trying to control the steadily decaying pulse cannon. Leaning over the smaller machine Julie lifted her knife and started to drive it into Ned's chest, slicing though layer after layer of armor until she hit his core. 

            The battle stopped.

            The pulse cannon flickered out. The timer ran down, to zero. The back mech stopped squirming. The Eva froze.

            Ned unclenched his hands, and pulled them from the joysticks. His eyes flicked between the three screens. Inhaling deeply, he pulled himself out of the zone.

            Julie kept her hands at the keyboard and stared at her flat screen. It was currently displaying aerial spin over the two mechs. In a semi-transparent frame front of the scene, appeared the battle stats. The brown haired girl bonked her head on the desk and groaned.

            Getting up Ned glanced back at his computer. He shook is head. Not bad. The fight could have been more interesting, but not bad.

***************

            Using a pair of servo manipulators, Dan started to peel back the case on one of the watcher's legs. Each manipulator was a small robotic arm with a slew of attachments: grasping claws, reciprocating blades, circular saw blades, a Dremel attachment, an attachment for a small blowtorch, or whatever else could be fitted with the device.

            "That's the last of it," Ranma said standing behind the burnout hacker.

            Dan paused the manipulator's progress and turned around. Ranma had wheeled in another pile of scrap parts from the blast site. "Still a girl?" Dan asked.

            Ranma looked down at herself and shrugged. "Haven't really had the chance to change."

            "Whatever." Dan mumbled as he helped the redhead unload the burnt scrap into the pile in the center of the garage bay.

            "Except for some odds and ends that Allison and Sarah are scrounging this should be the last of it," Ranma said.

            Maneuvering the manipulators, Dan started to pry open the casing of the device. "What the…" Dan said.

            "Find something?" Ranma asked, hoping to get a lead, anything on the bitch that was toying with them.

            "Perhaps," Dan said, pulling out an array of circuit boards from the device. He then pulled a magnifying light over the electronic guts of the device. "That's not right."

            "What?"

            "See for yourself," Dan said sliding over.

            "Okay," the redhead said stepping over to workbench. She then looked into the magnifier.

            "See anything?"

            "No not really, just a bunch of boards and stuff."

            "Come on you can see more than that," he remarked slightly amused.

            Using one of the manipulators Ranma moved one of the boards around. Nothing but some chipsets, power supply, actuator control, what the… She stopped the rotation and pulled the magnifier in to get a better look.

            "So you see it.  Good."

            "There's no serial number That's odd." The redhead ventured. She noticed that one was never stamped into it.

            "Companies are supposed to put one on them. Do you know what this means?"

            "Black market, not that surprising. I mean whoever doing this has been lobbing fuckin' mechs at us."

            "Exactly you can't pick these things up at the hardware store, and the some of the components and materials themselves are more than a little bit exotic."

            "Well this just gets better and better," Ranma mused. "Well at least we've got something. Maybe we can figure out where the boards were made or something." 

            "I don't know I mean Ned said that he hasn't found anything from the blast site at school."

            "Right," Ranma pondered. "Dan how well do you know Ned?"

            "I knew of him for a couple of years. Lockridge is a small place after all." Dan said sliding back over to the manipulators. After a barely perceptible pause he continued, "Never really got to know him all that well. I dunno, he just hung with different crowd. We never really talked much specially after the Langley incident."

            Ranma nodded, she didn't know all the details but supposedly the Langley girl was the last person Allison dated before Dan and there was some... unpleasantness attached to it. "Do you think he's?" Ranma ventured.

            "No." Dan stated evenly. "Our hacker's a girl. That much we know."

            Ranma just looked at Dan, eyebrow raised.

            "All right really bad example, but still."

            "You know what amazes me? So many people have asserted the gender of this person. You, Sarah, Allison, Gos, Erika, that Sean guy they hang with, Ned -hell I think even Jack talked about her once. And not once did any of you give basis for this! I'm not even questioning the validity of it anymore. What is going on here?"

            "Now that-" Dan began.

            The red head sighed in resignation.

            "-would be telling." He finished.

            "If you give me a little salute and say 'Be seeing you,' I _will_ blast you."

            Dan dropped his right hand to his side, breaking the ring formed by touching the tip of his thumb to his index finger. He sighed, "Okay Ned's just like Gos or hell even you. Our little hacker bitch appears to have two really L33T skills. She can get into essentially any system, and then adapt whatever she steals."

            "So she can just piggyback off the works of others."

            "Had to happen eventually," Dan said despondently.

***************

            Julie sat in the lobby of the South building, near the currently cold hearth. The room was similar to the entrance room of a resort or hotel. She glanced back at the woman behind the registration desk and gave a slight wave.

            Sally Winston returned the gesture, and resumed her work on the inventory budget at the cleverly concealed computer embedded in the counter. It was a slow day with only two guests staying in the compound. 

            Julie turned back to her laptop. She was making notes on the replay of the matches to see what areas needed improvement. Later she would work on the environment data for the mod and the design to her Eva.

            "You should rewrite the dependency codes for the AT field," a familiar voice said from behind her.

            Julie rolled her eyes, "Yes Ned, how am I supposed to have it read my soul?"

Flopping down in a chair opposite her, and at the other side of the fireplace, Ned spoke, "You could use a little Calash and have a direct link, but look that's not the point, the real problem is that damn reliance on external power."

"I tried to keep it as close to canon as possible."  
            "So you were wearing a plug suit and in a LCL filled tube."

Julie held her forehead, "No Ned, I mean have it be able to fight like it did in the Anime."

            "It was an interesting challenge. You almost beat me."

            "I was in an Eva you were in a Mech."

            Ned leaned back smiling slightly.

            "I should have mopped the floor with you."

            "As long as you learned something."

            Julie paused, trying to decide whether it was more appropriate to sigh or to glare at Ned.

            Ned turned to see WIC security chief Albert approach.

            "Hey Dave," Julie said still indecisive as what to do with Ned.

            "Julie," he nodded, then turning to his other cousin, "Ned, we've completed the sweep on your truck."

            "And?"

            "It was clean."

            "Really? Are you absolutely sure of this?"

            "Yes, after the first sweep indicated negative. We went deeper into it."

            "Ah, that was the delay."

            "Sir, you did emphasize the need to be absolutely sure of this."

            "I know, very good Dave. How's the new system doing?"

            "Very good, the ident program is running well within parameters."

            "Good," said Ned .

            "If you'll excuse me."

            "Fine," Ned responded lazily.

            Once the Security officer had left the room, Julie spoke up, "It's not nice to humor Dave's delusions."

            "Who said he was deluded," Ned replied bluntly.

            "What are you up to?"

            Ned allowed a slight smile.

            "Oh god," Julie sighed. 

***************

            Gos looked over the scans of the watcher parts. He then closed the laptop, "Interesting but why'd you come here to tell me. You could have send me the information without leaving the house. Why leave a place when you know it hasn't been secured?"

            "Exactly," Dan said, as if that answered the question. 

            Gos paused trying to understand the inanity.

            Erika which was sitting, or more accurately being projected, next to Gos, turned to Ranma, "Is he always like this?"

            Ranma turned to his half cousin who was at the moment staring at his own hand. "Yeah. I think it's from dating Allison."

            Erika considered this, "Yeah she did turn him into a girl."

            "Hey that was a mutual decision," Dan objected.

            "Nope. I'm thinking she cursed you while you were sleeping," Ranma suggested.

            Dan shrugged at this

            "Okay so why are you here? And this time please just answer the question," Gos asked slightly annoyed.

            "Well aside from having the girls-"

Erika raised an eyebrow.

            "Fine", Dan said, "aside from having Allison and Sarah get some lunch, and giving you guys a heads up, we left because the house wasn't secure."

            "Oh so why don't you secure it?"

            Dan smiled slightly, "Tell me what kind of security does Reno have set up?"

            Gos looked at Erika then at the wall of the apartment he was crashing in. "Well Forge is a bit paranoid so he's got a pretty good amount of security set up."

            Ranma looked around the room, it was furnished in late bachelor dive, a Coors mirror on the wall, across from a neon Red Dog sign. They were sitting in an old restaurant booth with giant wire spool serving as a table. There was still a great deal of thick green wire wrapped around it that seemed to connect into a conduit tapped down to the floor.

            As Ranma's as eyes tracked this oddity, things started to fall into place. An exposed wire here, an odd reflection in a mirror there, a neon sign that was buzzing just a bit too strangely, and dozens of other things that were in and of themselves meant nothing. It was like the original background to Sarah's old –no his- laptop.

            At first it appeared to be a meaningless field of static, and the harder you looked at it the more random it became, but if your eyes unfocused just right an image would form, one with more shape and depth that should be allowed by a flat screen. It was something where seeing it first time was the hardest but after that it became automatic.

            It clicked in Ranma's brain. His relatively new knowledge of electronics mixed with his honed skills of observation to from a map of the security system Reno had installed. It was incomplete and only of this room but Ranma could fill in some the gaps.

While this was happening Erika shot a questioning glance at Dan, as if to say: Has he been doing this a lot? She then pointed slightly at the laptop: And he's been using one of these too?

            Dan nodded slightly, then nodded again.

            Erika then looked at Gos. Her facial expression marked by surprise, skepticism, and disbelief.

            Gos simply shrugged.  Ranma was adaptable if anything.

***************

            The nonverbal conversation and Ranma's security analysis were interrupted by the opening of a bench that was built into the far wall. "So that's what those two cameras were pointed at?" Ranma thought, looking at the portal that now connected to the floor below.

            "Any old drunk could live above a bar, but it takes a special kind to have his own trapdoor," the chainmail-wearing hologram said.

            "Erika," Gos started, "Reno lives over Wolfe's Head,  one of the only restaurants in town, and so what if it has a bar?"

            Ranma looked at the open bench and then at the cleverly concealed cameras positioned above it, and asked "Where is Sean?"

            "Sleeping," Gos replied and was met with a glare from Erika. "What? He was up _working_ all night."

            Erika's response was cut off by a knock at the apartment's front door. Gos' eyes darted between the closed door and the open bench. "It's okay." Sean shouted from inside his room, breaking the tension, "It's just Sarah and Allison."

            "I thought he was asleep?" Erika asked.

            "As did I," Gos responded, while he got up to the door.

            "Eddy from the grill told us to come up here for our orders." Sarah stated as Gos opened the door.

            "Damn some_one_ been watching a little too much Drew Cary." Allison said after a quick scan of the room, her gaze resting on the trapdoor bench.

            "You think Sean fancies himself as the dumb one or the weird one?" Sarah replied.

            "Dumb. Weird," Erika and Gos said simultaneously and respectively.

            "Please tell me we don't act like that," Dan asked of Allison.

            "Trust me you two are worse," Sarah stated as she walked to the open trapdoor. "Okay Eddy, We're up here can we have our food now."

             "Why'd you think he wanted to send it up here?" Allison asked.

            "They must have seen us go upstairs and assumed that you'd be coming up with us." Dan said.

            "Sounds about right." Sarah said, grabbing the boxes that were being tossed up from the trapdoor.

            "I still say that thing a dangerous indulgence," Erika stated.

            "Hey, it's perfectly safe." Reno shouted, still in his room. Then opening the door, he poked his head out. "That door's monitored with full coverage by the sensor grid, and beside no one would launch an attack _in_ Lockridge, especially in one of the only bars here."

            "And why is that?" Dan asked evenly.

            "That would incur the wrath of the town fathers. They wouldn't stand for anything that would draw undo attention."

            Dan leveled his gaze at Reno, "Obviously Gos has failed to inform you to the specifics as to what is happening. A mech attacked school grounds. The Sheriff's daughter's life was endangered several times. His house has apparently been under surveillance for a long time. Don't you think a powerful rogue mage warrants concern? After all didn't she hack your system as well?"

            "Only if her actions would compromise town security. As I see it this conflict is entirely internal."

            "Okay, who are these town fathers?" Ranma asked.

            "A bunch of Calash wizards that run the town government. You know mayor, treasurer selectman, that sort of stuff."

            "Ah," Ranma replied.

            "Well, we should be going," Sarah said closing the trapdoor and picking of the takeout boxes.

            "You know Dan. You never did tell us why you left the house after that bot incident," Gos said while Sarah and Allison made their way to the door.

            "You should have figured that one out." Dan said as he stepped out of the apartment and started walking down the hall, after the blonde and the redhead.

            Ranma just shrugged as he left, pulling the door closed behind him.

            "Damn," Gos muttered.

            "I cannot believe you," Erika stated.

            "What?" 

            "It's simple: Dan and the other left the house as bait. They probably set up some sensors in the house to see just how far the hacker has infiltrated."

            "Makes sense."

            "What I don't get is why Ranma's so calm about that template of his. During the last couple days we've gotten more evidence point to Ranma having organic tech. And still he's calm about it."

            "First, I kinda downplayed the risks entailed by organic tech. Saying that in survived that first fight he's essentially out of the woods. And importantly Ranma's been at risk all his life. You know: 'a martial artist's life is fraught with peril' and all that."

            "Yeah but that whole thing with surviving the first fight is just a theory of yours. We don't have enough information to tell what's going to happen."

            "My point exactly. We don't know so why give him undue stress at our speculations."

            "But you lied to him."

            "No. I never did any such thing."

            "Then you shaded the truth. Only told him select things. Like what you said about that AI the _she is carrying around inside of her." _

            "That was the complete truth that AI was never designed to be conscious."

            "Organic Tech," Erika simply stated.

            "More speculation. But I see your point," Gos allowed.

            "At least Ranma approves of the Seattle operation."

            "At least we have that." Gos agreed.

***************

            It was a total of twelve feet from the back door of Wolf's Head to where the beast was parked. In the time for the four teens to walk to the heavily modified truck, the slight overcast to the sky darkened and the rainfall began.

            "Oh shit" Ranma said after her curse triggered (or reverted back to default if one were to be technical about it). She was dressed in just a tee-shirt and boxers.

            "Looks like somebody forgot to get dressed in their girl form," Allison remarked.

            Ranma shook her head.

            "You want us to go back in I'm sure they've got some hot water?" Dan said while unlocking his truck.

            Ranma glanced at Sarah and Allison loading the boxes in the now unlocked vehicle. "Nah. I'll just change when we get home."

            "You sure?" Dan inquired already in the driver's seat.

            "Yeah, it's no big deal," Ranma said climbing into the back seat.

            "Okay," Dan said as he ran the ignition sequence, and put the truck in gear.

            Allison, riding shotgun, exchanged glances with Sarah, who spoke up. "You're rather wet and wearing next to nothing. How is this not a big deal? Hell we could easily gotten some hot water."

            "It's just you guys and my guy clothes got pretty wet before I changed, so I'd just change back anyway." Ranma said flicking the water off her forehead.

            Allison caught the glint of silver on the underdressed redhead's finger. "When'd you get that ring?"

            "What ring?" Ranma said before her arm was grabbed by Sarah.

            "Oh my god," Sarah muttered examining the ring. Set in the silver band was polished white bone, and scrimshawed on it a was a single rose. The stem and thorns were inked in a dark, almost black, green, and inked in blood red were the petals themselves. Possessing amazing detail and craftsmanship, it was hard to believe that the ring was a magical construct let alone one that could very well be the product of organic tech.

            "Where the hell did that come from?" Ranma stated with genuine surprise.

            "Your template," Sarah said simply.

            "But I'm not in that damned thing."

            "Leakage? Poor activation control?" Dan suggested as he pulled onto main street.

            "I don't think so," Sarah said. "Sis, exactly how did you get that compact and glasses?"

            "Well I was kinda thinking that it would be helpful to be able to see that mech and then that a hands-free display would really be useful," Ranma said, letting the whole "sis" thing slide.

            "And now you're in a situation where you'd need clothing…" Allison trailed off.

            "Yeah but there's some problems with that," Dan said. "Before new devices were created when you were _in template, and now what? Is your temp reassigning accessories while it isn't even active?"_

            "Not necessarily," Sarah said. "Remember that ring appeared after the glasses and the compact."

            "When I was passed out."

            "So these extra accessories are what? Expansion slots?"

            "Why not," Sarah said. "So sis, you willing to try it out?"

            Ranma looked at the ring. "You know what this damn thing could do to me?"

            "Hey, it can't be worse than your temp" Sarah said.

            "And if it is you can always go into it," Allison helpfully suggested.

             "At least I have options," Ranma deadpanned before activating the ring.

            "Well that fits with the theme you've got going," Dan remarked at Ranma's new clothing.

            A flash of red light (similar to Ranma's activation sequence, but more muted) had replaced her underclothes. Ranma was now wearing a pair of white low healed sandals with rose clasps , a rose print skirt, a smallish white top with rose accents, and a pair of rose clips pulled her hair back into two ponytails. She was also outfitted with the expected makeup and jewelry including that little silver ring.

            "It's not any worse than Allison's fashion sense," Sarah remarked.

            "Hey!" the blonde said. "Come on Dan do I have no fashion sense?" she said pointing at her own body.

            "You must keep in mind you are talking to your boyfriend." Dan said.

            "No I'm talking to my girlfriend." Allison said coolly.

            "Ah" Dan said, then noticing the expression on the blonde's face shifted. "Um yes, yes you do," Dan stated while adjusting her legs slightly, so as to control the pedals better.

            "You two know, you don't have the making of a healthy relationship right?"

            "Come on Sarah, they've got about the most stable one I've ever seen," Ranma said.

            Sarah raised her eyebrow.

            "Right bad example." The ponytailed redhead looked at the ring then at her skirt. "I wonder if I can get something better, or at least control it more," she said activating the ring again. 

            Seeing another red flash Dan looked in her rearview mirror, "Heh, you were better off with that last one," she remarked before noticing the heavy machinery around the school. "Hey isn't that Ned?" she said pointing to the figure standing off to the side, and next to a red pickup, under a black umbrella.

            "I think it is," Allison said as they were about to drive past the school.

***************

            Ned stood alone in the rain watching as the work crew dismantled the remains of the guymelef. Upon arrival, the first thing the WIC team did was record the location of every shard of metal, working with the precision of forensic scientists. The material was then sorted. The pieces that showed some promise of functionality were separated from the mere scarp. Everything was then prepared for loading into the heavy haulers stationed at the perimeter of the site. A full security detail had closed of the area, much to the irritation of Judy Miller and to the amusement of the remainder of the faculty.

            Winston could not help but smile. The hardest part of this operation was not diverting a salvage group here, nor was it providing foremen trained in the necessary procedures, or even the weather which refused to cooperate. No the difficulty came in persuading Dave to send a detachment to the site.

            Ned was well aware as to why he had such ease in putting together this project. It was a part of where Robert Winston was planning to take his company; his vision for the future. That sat just fin with Ned.

            The mage, machinist, and mech pilot smiled. Things promised to be so interesting for the next few years. Too many years had been spent in hiding. So much potential was wasted. The town fathers were blind to the true power of Calash. What could be done. What should be done. What will be done. Ned's smile stiffened into a little grin. 

            The ringing of his cell phone, broke his observation. After glancing at the Caller ID display he flipped the device open. "Yes Rebecca." 

            "Your ingenuity never ceased to amaze me," the girl's voice said in a deceptively pleasant manner.

            "As with your encryption algorithms, your signal bouncing protocols are rather robust but rather distinctive as well. What is it you want?"

            "Enjoying your gift?"

            "Which one?"

            That got her attention.

            Noticing the silence Ned continued, "Perhaps reciprocity is in order then?"

            "Perhaps some has already occurred," she stated while thinking, _No he can't be working with the pale boy. Can he?_

            "That is a possibility."

            Rebecca looked at her tactical display. "Are you fully aware of what that entails?" she said zooming in on him via a watcher. Pressing a key made a targeting crosshair appear over his chest.

            Ned calmly turned to face the watcher, "You should be mindful of matters of magnitude. Do you really want to escalate?"

            Rebecca was more impressed than angered. Ned had managed to detect a cloaked watcher three hundred yards out, at the tree-line, without any obvious augmentation. "Perhaps I was rash."

            Ned paused at this. Rebecca showing willful restraint. "Explain." he said into the phone.

            "You are a student of history are you not."

            "Yes."

            "I propose a deal."

            "I just opted out of our last agreement."

            "This is more of a nonaggression pact."

            "I see. What are the details do you propose?"

            "We shall each have sovereignty over our own possessions and territory."

            "I see and contestable acquisitions?"

            "I believe that our past dealings proves that we can negotiate amicably."

            "Yes. Any concessions needed to reach this deal?"

            "Nope."

            "I must say this new proposal of yours is interesting. Although the reasons necessitating such an agreement are beyond me."

            "You've got company," Rebecca said in response.

            Ned turned to see a familiar black truck turn into the school's front lot. "Well then, we shall conclude this after I talk with them."

            Rebecca hung up at this.

            Ned closed his phone and looked at it with interest. What was the deal with that history comment. Rebecca knew full well what periods of history he was interested in: World War Two and the Cold War. Why would she mention that? The only deals during that war that fit were the nonaggression pact signed by Hitler and Stalin. Or perhaps the treaty Chamberlain had with Hitler where he bought a few months of peace by giving the fascists Czechoslovakia.

            No Rebecca would never place herself as the loser of that war no matter how appropriate it was. Was she alluding to the Alliance formed by Russia and what would later be the NATO powers. But Soviets failed as well.

            "What is her game?" Ned asked himself as the black truck pulled up.

***************

            "So why'd we stop here," Allison asked, as the beast parked near the red pickup.

            "Ned may have information we could use," Dan replied.

            "Um Dan? Ned doesn't know about the curses," Sarah suggested.

            "Ah yes," Dan said thankful for the tinted glass, that from the outside, would obscure her shape. "Is that better?" he said after shifting.

            "Yeah fine."

            "Okay," Dan said lowering his window. "Hey Ned I've got something for you."

            "Yes?" Winston said walking up to the still idling truck. The rain pounding on his black umbrella.

            "We had a little incident today," Dan said followed by a brief synopsis what happened with the watcher.

            "Do you have any of the wreckage with you?"

            "Sorry, just this," Dan said passing a disk with the photos he'd taken.

            "I'll look at it," Ned said as he pocketed the zip.

            "Seemed to have a similar cloaking field as that mech," Dan said noticing the little WIC engraved in the handle of Ned's umbrella.

            "Really," Ned said looking into the truck. There was Allison in the front, behind Dan was Sarah, and diagonally was that other redhead, Sarah's sister. The girl with that angel template. The one who's arrival coincided with when Rebecca started to become... erratic.

            The girl seemed to be a little too formally attired, in a pink dress with rose trim and lace, heels and stockings, a fair amount of jewelry each containing at least one rose, and save for a few locks of hair coming down from over her temples, framing an amazing face, her hair was pulled up into a tight bun.

            Ned almost froze at the gaze the girl leveled at him. Her eyes, a compellingly deep shade of blue, locked onto him, calculating, estimating, tracking. It only lasted for a faction of a second but Ned could almost fell the power that the redhead commanded. It was a gaze that was deeply familiar to him, but Ned was unable to locate where he had seen it.

            "My god and she isn't even in template yet," Ned thought his awe, mixed with more than a little fear, was then replaced with clinical and professional interest. "What's your plan now? I mean your current residence has been compromised," he said turning to Dan, but still tracking the girl in the corner of his eye, noting that she was doing the same.

            "Isn't that always the case?" Dan responded.

            "Very true," Ned said, looking at the salvage crew. Good, they are about halfway done. 

            "And as for our plan. Well we'll do a full sweep to see how much has been compromised."

            "But what about a sensor net? Security systems?"

            "We'll have to do a complete rebuild."

            'That'll take time," Ned mused, considering the situation. Rebecca was obviously concerned about his girl. Why else would she deviate from her usual stable, if amoral, plans? Unless Rebecca was not panicking at all and this is still all a part of her plans. "Either way, the situation will reach critical mass very soon." Ned thought looking at the girl. It was then that he figured out where he had seen those eyes before.

            They were bombardier's eyes. It was the same precise, controlled, almost godlike, yet understandably reserved and subdued look of those about to release their ordnance. The same eyes looking at him now could easily have been looking down a Norton bomb site over Berlin, Dresden, Tokyo, Kobe, or any other city about to be reduced to rubble. The same eyes as those buried in anonymous bunkers dotting America's vast empty reaches, watching tactical monitors waiting for that one call, to begin Armageddon.

            People that when required of them, could unleash horrific power.

            Ned opened his mouth, knowing full well the path he had to take, despite the risks involved. "I've been working on developing countermeasures to this cloaking system," he said pointing to the guymelef wreckage. "I'll have to look at the data you've given me but it should be easy to incorporate it to detect these probes that have been wandering around."

            "And what are you offering?" Dan asked.

            "Basic exchange. You've given me the schematics and pics of another of our little hacker's minions, The least I can do is give you designs on how to build and effective sensor net."

            "That's it?"

            "Well let's see, you did help me net that mech over there."

            "But it was attacking us, you're the one who warned us about it and came to help."

            "Well I can't send you the sensor plans. Experience has shown that all of our message traffic can be intercepted."

            Dan nodded.

            "So I will have to drive back home, and bring the sensor plans back to your place."

            "What about the modifications?"

            "Those remains are still there, I can do the upgrades during installation."

            "Tell you what Ned, just give us the modified schematics and we'll call it even."

            Ned looked at the black truck. Despite the heavy rain and that the engine was only idling he could fell the turbines. "Sure, I think you guys can handle it."

            "Good."

            "Be seeing you," Ned said, before walking back to his pickup.

            "And you," Dan replied raising his window, and putting the beast into gear.

            Once inside the cab, Ned closed the door and watched the black truck race into the distance. When it was out of sight he pulled two objects out of his pocket. One was the disk Dan had given him, the other was the cell phone that Rebecca had called him on.

            He considered them both. Sighing he pocketed the disk and opened the phone. Ned would give them the plans, but first he had a call to make and a deal to negotiate.

***************

            "You think he'll play ball?" Dan asked as they drove home.

            "He's hiding something," Ranma said.

            "He definitely knows more than he lets on," Sarah agreed.

            "Remember, this is Lockridge. That's par for here," Allison added.

            "True, but he was examining Ranma pretty intently. Think he knows?"

            "What?" Ranma curiously.

            "Exactly."

            Ranma just shook her head.

            "What do you think Ned's part is in all this?" Allison asked.

            "We know he isn't our little hacker, but aside from that…" Dan muttered.

            "So what is WIC?" Ranma asked. She'd seen the logo, consisting of italic double-lined letters, on Ned's stuff and that work crew.

            "Winston Industrial Container." Dan said before going into a brief summary of the organization.

            "I didn't know Ned had enough sway to divert a work crew like that, or does he have his own subordinates?" Sarah said.

            "Why do you think I suggested that we should make that deal with him," Dan said as he drove. "Even if he's not our enemy he's got enough influence to alter the whole situation."

***************

            Rebecca closed her cell phone. A small grin formed on her face as she looked out onto the valley that rolled out below her. She then walked from the porch railing to the door that lead into the kitchen. 

"Who was that?" Ryoga asked, sitting at the kitchen table, in front of him were two compasses one magnetic, one gyroscopic, two cups of water, and an I/O sphere hooked up to a palm-pilot.

"I just convinced a powerful wizard to not give Ranma sanctuary."

            "Oh, I see."

            "Let me see how you're doing," Rebecca said picking up the palm, and looking a the reams of painstakingly gathered, important looking, and ultimately useless data. The girl nodded at the display, "I think you're about ready for a field test."

            Ryoga nodded at this.

***************

            "So what do you think," Sarah asked as she got ready for bed.

            "It seems to work," Ranma replied.

            "Took long enough to put in."

            "At least that that Winston guy wasn't here to long."

            "You don't like him very much."

            Ranma paused, then spoke, "Yeah. There's something off with him. He has this strange distance. It's as if everything was a game to him. Remember during that mech fight. Kinda like he thinks that he can hit restart, if he screws up."

            "To him it may very well still be a game."

            "And in the car when he was appraising us?"

            "What are you saying?"

            "Look he might not be the one who imprinted me, but who knows what he's up to."

            Sarah turned from her dresser to look at her sibling, "It obvious that he's plotting something. But it's got more to do with his little company than with us."

            "Then why did he help is build that sensor net?"

            "Remember what dad said when he got home,"

            Ranma nodded, "Yeah he was in a meeting with the mayor, a local business man, and a few others, talking about town security."

            "You don't think that was about WIC?"

            "Maybe."

            "We know that Ned's been compromised by the same hacker that's be plaguing us."

            "Unless Ned sold her those designs."

            "I don't think Ned would work with someone like that. He wants WIC to keep a low profile. Associating with our hacker bitch would surely bring the town fathers down on him."

            "So the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

            "In this case? Yes."

            "Still."

            "Look it's late. We're both tired from lashing those damn sensor pods to god knows how many trees. Lets just drop this subject till tomorrow," Sarah said fatigue edging her voice.

            "Fine."

            "Your ring's gone," Sarah pointed out.

            "Yeah happened, just after I changed," Ranma said looking at his hand.

            "At least that's something."

            "Yeah. No you're sure you don't mind me sleeping as a guy? It's just that I've been a girl almost all day and I was only able to change back a few minutes ago. What with it still raining when we were setting up the sensors and all, and then when-"

            "Again I don't mind," Sarah said cutting him off. "It was your idea to sleep as a girl in the first place."

            "Sorry."

            "No need," Sarah said, climbing into her bed, where she started to drift off almost instantly.

            Ranma shrugged, then turned off the lights and climbed into the top bunk. It took a couple minutes for him to nod off. 

            Once asleep the martial artist shifted into girl form, followed by a slight reddish glow emanating from the now female body.

***************

            "Oh no," Gos said.

            "What?" Erika asked, turning away from the TV.

            The hologram simply waved his hand at the laptop screen. Erika started reading the message, still amused by the novelty of being on this side of the monitor. Her whimsy ended when she got to the body of the message. After pausing to digest the information, she made a series of comments similar yet more vivid and in depth than the one Gos made.

            "Did you send your reply?" she asked after regaining her composure.

            "Not yet, I just got the message. Looks like we're going to have to bring Ranma in for some recordings."

            "Are you sure of this."

            "We have to convince them that they're on the right trail, and I will NOT let those lunatics get within the same state as Ranma."

            "And if they discover our subterfuge?"

            "That's why we have contingency plans. I just hope we'll never have to resort to them."

            "Well then, let's get to work," Erika said sliding the computer over to herself.

[End Chapter 6]

Thanks to my Pre-readers

Wrayloflin, Jerry, Jakub, The Jak, and Black Dragon


	7. Weapon of Choice

Generation Lost

A Ranma ½ fan fiction story

by Josh Temple

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video.

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Chapter 7: Weapon of Choice

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"Who are you?"

— Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

Ranma walked down the stairs, muttering to himself. "Stupid Ned," he said while walking into the den. Dan was already in the room, lounging on one side the couch, his eyes occasionally drifting onto the glowing box.

"Hey, Dan. You ready for school?" Ranma asked, flopping into the other end of the sectional.

Dan nodded. Then rolling over, he looked at Ranma with a ponderous expression.

"Dude, you should just go to sleep at night," Ranma stated, looking at his nearly inert cousin.

"In the abyss of sleep, dreams are all we have, that is their terrible power," Dan mumbled semi-coherently.

"Right," Ranma simply said. It was far too early to deal with Dan's special grade of insanity. "Anyway, you think this new perimeter's going to be okay? We spent half the night putting it in."

Dan appeared to be in deep thought, as if he were weighing the pros and cons of several interconnected issues.

"And what about our hacker? We've got a list, but who knows if she's on it?"

Dan nodded, still in deep thought.

"Well?"

"Answer me this, Ranma. We aren't technically related, are we?"

"Um… what?" the martial artist asked. Where the hell did that come from?

"Think about it. I'm Sarah's cousin from her father's side, and you're her half-brother from her mother's side."

"Point being?"

"Think about it," Dan said, reaching out to the coffee table.

"What do you—" Ranma said just before Dan tossed the contents of his mug at him. For once, it was not coffee but cold tap water, and thus the curse triggered. The Rose Ring appeared and shifted the girl's clothing, putting her in a green sundress cinched with a rose-patterned dark red belt and light green sandals. Her nails were painted in the same green, her face was made up in a collection of greens, and finally her vibrant red hair was unbound to flow freely. "Damn it, Dan! What the hell?" she demanded.

"I was thinking that as long as we aren't related, we could… you know…."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Ranma shouted, suddenly very self conscious as to how she was dressed. "We're both guys!"

"Not anymore," Dan said after shifting into her girl-form and a tight black mini-dress.

Ranma found herself stuck to the couch as the amorous red-eyed girl slid over to her. "What about Allison?" the redhead asked indignantly, as the other girl got even closer.

"It was my idea," the blonde girl said from behind her.

Ranma screamed as the two girls pounced on her.

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"What the fuck does that mean?" Ranma asked just after she stopped screaming. She was sitting up in her upper bunk. "Damn! Of all the dreams I'd have to remember," she muttered, climbing down. "Stupid ring," she mumbled, looking at her negligee. When she went to sleep, she wasn't wearing a negligee; but then again, when she went to sleep she was a guy. Resembling a slip, it was comfortable, a lacy pink accented in roses, and showed off her figure nicely. All of which, except for the first, really annoyed her. Mindful of tapping the ring again, she went to her dresser to find some normal clothes.

Putting on a pair slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, she left the room looking for her housemates. The upstairs hallway was silent, but she could hear the soft babble of a distant television. Shrugging, she went down the stairs. Following the source of the sound brought her to the den, where she came to a disturbingly familiar situation.

"How're things going, princess?" Dan asked as he slothfully watched television.

Ranma, who had woken from a rather disturbed dream involving Dan, said: "I am not a princess," rather loudly and forcibly.

"Mail says otherwise," Dan replied, turning his attention back to the television.

"What?" the redhead asked puzzled.

"It's on the kitchen table. No return address, though," he added almost as an afterthought.

"And you just brought it in the house?"

"Chill, Ran-Man, we scanned it. It's clean," Dan said.

"What is it?"

"Some little thing. Go and see."

Ranma shook her head and got up, leaving the room. Anything to get away from Dan. Once at the kitchen table, Ranma looked at the box skeptically. Scattered around it was a collection of junk mail, bills and letters. The white package was about seven inches long by two inches deep and wide. All that was on it was postage and the name: Princess Angel Rose.

Sighing despondently, she tore the ribbon sealing the box and pulled the lid off. Nestled in a bed of foam was a wand. About six inches long, it was a vibrant green shaft ending in a pure white rosebud set in a gold base. When she reached out to touch the wand, her ring started to glow. Curious, Ranma noticed that the closer she brought the ring to the wand, the brighter it became.

Fearful of the repercussions, Ranma pulled back her hand. "Just fucking great," Ranma muttered as she considered what to do. That compact might have the sensors to tell here what the wand was, but Ranma did not want to enter template. Looking at the Rose Ring, she got an idea. Holding her hand open she said the activation phrase, "Rose Compact Activate!" She could feel a bit of power surge within her as the device formed in her hand.

Gah! Why does it always have to be so… girlish, she thought, flipping open the pink, jeweled makeup case. Ranma pointed it at the object in the box. Ranma looked at the display the Rose Compact gave off. "White Rose Wand: used for healing and repairing."

Ranma raised her eyes at this. That doesn't sound too bad. It wasn't very surprising; healing was a mainstay of those princess trinkets. Ranma looked back down at the compact. Even more crap, but at least it might be somewhat useful crap.

With her other hand, she picked up the wand. Ranma could feel the power flowing through it. Energy was coming from somewhere inside her and being focused into the wand. Turning the delicate ivory rosebud to her face, she could feel it building and waiting only to be released, and then Ranma slipped. She was blinded by a flash of pinkish-white light.

The White Rose Wand was by no means intelligent, although confusion would be an adequate description of its current state. The Princess had activated the wand when it was pointed at herself. Now, if she were injured there would be no issue. The wand would go about trying to heal her.

However, the Princess was in perfect condition, aside from some minimal brain damage inflicted when she was a rather young age, but that seemed to be healed and compensated for, although she was not dressed as one would expect. So why was it activated? The Princess was fine but horridly dressed, and had activated the Rose Compact and the Rose Ring. The Princess could have dressed herself properly using the Ring, but did not. The wand, finding no other injuries, took it upon itself to "fix" its broken Princess.

Ranma, fearing whatever what was about to happen, tried to stop the Wand but could not. She felt her clothes morph and blossom out, becoming layered and puffed, until they turned into an ornate ball gown. It was light amethyst and white, with rose accents and small sequins sewn into it. The short and puffy-sleeved dress had bouquets of roses in the center of light green ribbons that pulled up the folds of the skirts and rested on her shoulders. The dress' back opened up to allow for her little angel wings to form into place. Her shoes were then turned into delicate pink pumps.

Her nails became manicured and polished pink, with just a hint of glitter. A choker formed around her neck, this one patterned in vines and roses, with a sunflame diamond in the center; a clear diamond with an orange starburst in the center. A purse then formed onto place. It was circular and purple with sequins. It had a gold clasp with a purple rose etched on it, and a green strap. A pair of jade and ruby bracelets then appeared.

A small rose pin formed onto her lapel. Three pairs of earrings fell into place. The lowest were hanging jeweled roses, the middle was golden hoops, and the highest were silver studs. Makeup formed into place, including but not limited to pink lipstick, blush, eyeliner, green eye shadow, trimmed eyebrows, and elongated eyelashes. A subtle rose perfume then cascaded around her.

Then her hair started to move. It was unbraided, then teased, feathered, and finally was pulled up. Most of her hair was piled on top of her head where it was sculpted into gentle flips off to one side and to the back. The rest of her unbound hair consisted of two sections behind either temple. In a twisted act of irony these were turned into two braids that fell in front of her ears down to her chest. Her hair was then enriched with pink highlights and glittering sparkles.

A simple golden tiara formed. Unlike the Senshi style which goes on the forehead, hers went on top of her head, nestled in her frozen hair. Its centerpiece was a mosaic construed from hundreds of precious stones; naturally, the pattern of a rose. The Rose Ring only changed slightly by simply gaining a few diamonds around the setting. The compact, on the other hand, had transformed completely. In its place was a circular mirror with a silver frame with a crossed handle coming out of the bottom of it. Rose and vine patterns were carved into the entirety of the pristine metal. It was into this crystal clear surface that the redhead saw what she had become.

"What the hells was that about?" Dan asked, coming into the kitchen after hearing a string of expletives that would make a one-eyed carpenter proud. Then he saw the girl. "What the fuck did you do?" he asked, really starting to question the girl's sanity.

"I didn't do nothing. The stupid wand in that damn package of yours turned me into this!" Ranma screamed, still holding the mirror.

"What about that package?" Dan asked, concerned by the angry, intensely-dressed girl.

"Yes, it had this in it," she said gesturing with her ring-less hand, only to find that the wand had disappeared.

"Um, right," Dan said. She's definitely disturbed. "The reason we took the box inside was because it was empty," he said warily. "We thought it was supposed to mess with your head," he did not add. Perhaps there was something in the box — some signal that activated hidden code in Ranma's template. If she lost it, Dan knew roughly what his chances were, template or no template.

"You're wrong! There was something in that box. And there it is!" she cried, pointing above and to the left of her head where the wand was hovering.

The White Rose Wand was again, if not confused, then an approximation of it. This was not how a Princess was supposed to react, especially after being restored to her proper attire. Obviously there was still something wrong with her. Perhaps she needed a nudge in the right direction.

"I don't see anything," Dan said, looking right at where the wand was.

"What are you? Blind? How can you miss something hanging right in front of you? Are you stupid, or just—" And then the wand kicked in. Her voice softened, becoming sweet, refined, and feminine. "I kindly suggest that you look again. Hopefully this time you shall see the artifact that I spoke of," she said finishing with a smile. What the hell? She thought, feeling the unintended words smoothly roll out of her mouth, which for some reason was beaming demurely. This has to be that fucking wand's doing.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked.

Looking at her cousin, shock on her face. I've got to try to tell him what happened, she thought. Formulating the sentence in her mind she tried to say it, but as just before she was about to produce the words they changed, shifting as she said them.

"No. Some sort of maladjusted device has transformed me and is forcing me to talk in a quite unacceptable manner," the ball gown-wearing beauty said, fighting through her feminine and formal speech. "I apologize for the inappropriate situation my wand has created, but it must be remedied," the sparkling, winged redhead said cheerily and softly… despite her best efforts.

Dan raised an eyebrow. Something was definitely wrong here.

Meanwhile, the White Rose Wand was increasing its not-exactly-worry. Despite its efforts, the Princess was not acclimating. In fact, the more the wand helped her, the more she seemed to resist. Something more drastic had to be done. The wand suspected the Princess was this way because of that old brain injury; unfortunately, it was not authorized to alter her mind, so the wand prepared to do the next best thing.

The bejeweled young woman almost smiled on her own. As long as she could explain what had happened to Dan so she could get fixed, things might start looking up. "You, kind sir, must help me by finding and removing this phantom wand," she managed to say before the wand powered up again.

With the first action taken by the wand, a terrible femininity was laid over her body. Speaking her mind, she tried to fight it, but soon found the wand forcing her to speak though a girly, delicate, and regal haze. She could not tell what it had done this time, but it felt proper, it felt right, and she was terrified of it.

Seeing that horrid device above her, she tried to give it the finger, as one last message of defiance. However instead of having all but one of her manicured fingers rolled back into a fist, she found her manicured hand opening her purse. Her other arm then gently deposited her mirror inside. As she closed the clasp, she beckoned towards an unnerved Dan. Wanting to tell him not to freak out, and that the wand was doing all this, she tried to speak.

"I apologize, Guardian Arzish. I appear to have been confused as of late. Perhaps a rest is in order," she said, the horror at her own words and actions in contrast to the womanly grace she radiated.

"Guardian? Ranma, what's going on?"

"Have you forgotten, my dear Arzish? You are one of the Guardians assigned to protect me, the Princess Angel Rose," she asked, concern evident on her flawless face.

Dan was about to shift into template when he felt a soft, dainty hand grasp his. He found himself gently pulled over to her and into a kneeling position. Looking up into her eyes, he watched as her lips touched the back of his hand. The elegantly-feminine creature then spoke, "Noble Guardian, you have sacrificed so much, and believe me, it will not go unrewarded. Now stand with pride," she said kissing his other hand.

Dan stood back up. Ranma had definitely flipped, but at least she was not violent, for now at least. Dan, knowing his delicate position, chose his words carefully. "Um, yes, my princess. Please forgive me."

Her face brightened. "Always, Arzish, always. Oh, silly me! I just put this away." She laughed as she opened her purse. Her delicate hand then slid the item out. She checked in the Rose Mirror and seemed satisfied with her happy overly-beautiful face. After returning it to her purse, she turned to Dan. "Well, I am in need of escort," she said, offering her arm.

"Where to?" he asked the serene-looking young woman.

"I'm sorry, dear, but you should be properly attired as well," she said, not wanting to do what she was about to do, but having no choice.

"Sorry. If you'll let me to go to my room," Dan said, hoping to get some distance. Then he might be able call the others, maybe organize something.

"No need," Princess Angel Rose said, opening her purse to take out the White Rose Wand. Satisfied that Princess was in a correct state of mind, the wand compiled with its mistress. Mentally cringing but outwardly smiling, she watched as glowing energy from her ring and wand consumed Dan.

After being shifted into girl-form, her hair grew even longer, reaching mid-back. Her purple dyed bangs had also lengthened and pulled back, braided by deep red ribbons into the rest of her rich chestnut hair in a complex and beautiful structure of flowing hair and tight braids. Then her clothing changed. Fuku, bodysuit, high-heeled boots, ribbons, and white gloves all formed. Her skirt was a deep purple. Her ribbons were the same dark red as her eyes, which were being highlighted by eyeshadow and liner, long lashes, and thin, arched eyebrows. Soft blush formed on her face, contrasting with her deep violet lipstick.

Jewelry then started to coalesce. Spherical hanging earrings came into place, glowing like red suns. The gems in her silver tiara were brilliant faceted gems twinkling like a chevron-shaped constellation. Her choker was black with an amethyst heart-shaped gem in the center, surrounded by diamonds in a starburst pattern. Finally, brightly shining particles — stardust, for lack of a better name — rained down onto her, sticking on her clothes and hair sparkling brightly where they landed, completing the girl.

After she had been put in her girl-form, her clothes had been replaced by this magical girl gear and she was in template. Somehow, someway, this Princess had hacked into Dan's template, modifying it so that it would work in this form, and adding the appropriate costume changes. She was still a cyborg, but she was also a beautifully coiffed cyborg.

"However, something is amiss," the princess pondered, looking over the newly-transformed girl.

Dan was too shocked to make an intelligible response, and simply continued trying to organize her thoughts.

"That would be the missing element," Princess Angel Rose said, powering up her wand again. The newly-changed girl felt the back of her fuku open up, followed by the growth of wings. Similar in size and shape to the Princess' flight wings, these almost reached the floor, giving her a wingspan close to her total height. Violet, save for the tips which were a deep crimson, her wings were sprinkled in the same glowing motes that covered her clothing, hair, jewelry, and makeup.

"There. Now, do you not feel better?" the Princess inquired happily, her inner shame completely contained.

"You made me a Senshi?" the purple-highlighted brunette said, getting the sensations from her new anatomy. Gods, these things are real. They're a part of me. They've even been integrated into my wetware, she thought in mute awe and horror.

"Yes, it would be inappropriate to call you a Guardian now," she said, looking over the transformed girl. "I know," Princess Angel Rose exclaimed gleefully, "In battle, I am called Sailor Rose Angel; you shall be Sailor Nova Angel."

"Um… Right, Princess. Thank you," the newly-christened Sailor Nova Angel said, aware that she was treading a very thin line. First Ranma transforms herself into this thing, and then she starts modifying others, all the time ranting about wands, guardians, and other nonsense. "So where shall we go?" Sailor Nova Angel asked, wondering if she would need to find her keys.

Princess Angel Rose considered this. "I believe I shall meet my sister. How do you think she will receive me?"

Sailor Nova Angel thought about Sarah and Allison, up at the range practicing with handguns. "It will be interesting," she allowed, running a gloved hand over her hair and twitching her wings. Oh yeah, very interesting.

The princess brightened. "I do believe you are quite right. Well, lead on," she said, tugging at Nova's arm

Sailor Nova Angel nodded and started to take her through the kitchen. Unlike Ranma — or the girl that seemed to have replaced Ranma — she had very little experience in heels and walked rather unsteadily. She looked back to see the beautiful girl enjoying herself. By the time Sailor Nova Angel had reached the back door, she was reasonably sure she would not fall flat on her face.

Raising her hand to her face, she said, "My dear Nova, you are out of sorts." She then stepped through the door and onto the deck.

Before taking her off the porch and up the path, Sailor Nova Angel spoke up, "Won't you be cold, Princess? Surely your gown will get caught on the way up."

She giggled, the sound like chiming bells. "You do fuss over me. For is not your dress so much shorter than mine?" she joked as they walked the path up to the range. "See," she said, deftly walking on the uneven ground despite her heels and managing to avoid snags in her extensive dress. Satisfied with her restoration work, Princess Angel Rose vanished into the White Rose Wand, to await when she was needed again.

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"Damn Allison, she had to take the one downstairs," Sarah grumbled as she closed the bathroom door. She was walking down the upstairs hallway when she heard the sounds of sheetrock breaking and mindless screaming. Shifting into template, she ran to room where the sounds originated. Easily kicking the door open, the power suit-wearing girl scanned the bedroom.

There was Ranma sitting up in her bed, removing her fist from the ceiling. Her eyes were focused intently on something far away as she gibbered to herself. Sarah looked briefly at her HUD, but the display only showed the energy signals being given off by other redhead. "What happened?"

Ranma looked down at the girl, a puzzled expression on her face. "You're in template?"

"Yeah," Sarah said, adjusting the grip on her gun.

"Okay, good then," Ranma said, eyeing the holes in the ceiling.

"Was this just a nightmare?" Sarah inquired.

"Yeah."

"The cats?"

"Um, I don't quite remember," Ranma said after a slight hesitation.

"What's going on?" Dan's voice asked over Sarah's headset.

"Looks like bad dreams," Sarah replied into the microphone.

"Scan?" Dan asked.

"Couldn't hurt," Sarah replied.

"You got a comm system working," Ranma observed.

"Yeah. We're still testing it, though. Although I don't know if your template will take the code."

"I'm sure it'll absorb it just fine," Ranma said, sighing.

Sarah heard her cousin's voice come in on the encrypted channel. "Well, Dan says the perimeter is secure. That's good."

"But it was just a dream."

"Okay then," Sarah said before dropping out of template. "Look, bro, once Allison gets out of the bathroom, I suggest you take a long hot shower," Sara said, noting Ranma's sleep problems.

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Ranma picked up the spoon. After balancing it on his right index finger, he watched the flatware rock back and forth. The oscillations increased until the cutlery slipped off his finger. His eyes tracked the descending object, and when it fell the correct height, he closed his middle finger to his left thumb. Now holding the spoon at the base where the handle met the scoop, he pondered it. Half asleep, he looked into the distorted reflection.

Sarah looked up from her notebook to see Ranma holding his utensil in front to his face. His eyes had that faraway yet cognitive look. The only thing Sarah could equate it to were those 3-D pictures, the ones where your eyes had to be unfocused just right in order to see the shapes emerge from the static.

The redhead looked at the others at the table. Her cousin was more zonked out than her brother, being asleep next to his customary mug of coffee. Allison was humming a little song to herself while cutting her toast into small cubes. Sarah put her pencil down next to the unfinished physics problem and resumed eating her cereal.

There is an almost gleeful sense of resignation that happens when one realizes that no matter how hard one tries, no matter the effort, the assignment cannot and will not be completed. It's the sick freedom and comfort that only comes when you accept failure. It is a sensation cherished by generations of slackers.

And this was why Sarah asked her question in an offhand and cheery voice, despite the early hour.

"Huh?" Ranma asked while still looking at the spoon.

"I said: Are you worried about the problem set that's due today?" Sarah repeated, some of the cheer gone from her voice.

"Problem set?" Ranma asked, putting his spoon down.

"You're almost as bad as Dan."

"The marmosets are burning though the hull. We have to get to the freezer before the sparkplugs thaw," Dan mumbled, still asleep and in the calm, ordered voice of someone reading VCR directions.

"That's nice," Sarah stated as she took her relative's lunacy in stride. Then, to Ranma: "So what's the problem? Still thinking about that dream?"

"Um… nothing, nope," Ranma said. Looking between the now inaudibly babbling Dan, and Allison, who appeared to be building a standing circle out of bouillon cube-sized chunks of toast, he continued, "Just tired, I guess."

"Well, we've still got ninety minutes 'til school," she said, after looking at the clock on the microwave.

"Yeah, but I couldn't get back to sleep," Ranma said, digging his spoon to the bottom of his still-dry cereal and leaving it buried.

"See, it's normal," Allison responded, now carefully forking the cubes into her mouth.

Sarah glanced at Dan, who was now quietly listing the virtues of sandpaper. "Yeah, I really shouldn't be worried about him."

"Oh, he'll be fine in a half hour or so."

"Yeah, that's what's unsettling."

Allison shrugged, and then changed the subject. "So, have you checked the new sensor net again?"

"Yup, it seems to be up," Sarah stated with a slight edge, the glee of her slacking now entirely gone.

"What?" Allison asked, catching the redhead's tone.

"She's probably just concerned that Ned gave us the system just so that he can watch us," Ranma said in a bored tone, while looking into his spoon, now filled with cereal and milk.

"Yeah, but why don't you care? I mean, you were hostile to him during the night's setup," Allison asked

"Just a bit angry that he was checking out my girl form when we were in the truck," Ranma replied a little too evenly.

Sarah caught the odd tone and paused, thinking over his statement.

"Well, you can't blame Winston for it. You were in a rather interesting dress, and all he did was scope you out. Perfectly normal," Allison countered, forking up the last of her toast.

"I shouldn't be having this conversation. I'm a guy," Ranma grumbled; only slightly perturbed, Sarah noticed.

"Ned doesn't know that," Allison said, getting up.

"I guess he's never seen me as a guy, has he?" Ranma asked his sister.

Sarah looked up from the textbook she was vacillating over. "Nope. I don't think so." Then, after a sigh: "I guess I could get back to work. If I do a few more problems, then I might not fail."

"What's this I'm hearing?" Allison asked after washing her dishes. "Since when did you start caring about that stuff?"

"I'm not a degenerate like the rest of you," Sarah stated.

"Slacker you are a," Dan muttered, finally saying something halfway coherent.

"Looks like he's waking up. Darn. I was sure that after last night, he'd sleep till noon."

"We weren't up that late putting in the sensor net," Sarah defended… before realization dawned. "Oh God," she then stated with slight disgust.

"I don't even want to know," Ranma said, focusing on eating his breakfast.

"What?" Allison asked. "We're two healthy, consenting—"

Sarah cut her off. "That's not it."

"Oh, is it the 'bi' thing?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"That you used his body just so that you could drive today," Sarah said.

"Well, that was a fringe benefit," Allison admitted, "But that wasn't the only reason."

"How do they get grain to glow in the dark?" Ranma noted.

"Come on, Ran-Man, Allison's talked about sex before," Dan said, sitting up and sipping his coffee.

"What the…? When'd you get up?" Sarah noted with surprise.

Dan shrugged.

"So I'm not driving today?" Allison asked.

"Nope," Dan said, calmly taking another sip of the now-tepid beverage. "But I do appreciate last night."

Sarah suddenly got up and dropped her dish in the sink.

"Where're you going?" Allison asked, leaning on the counter.

Sarah picked up her notes and textbook. "I'm going to try and finish the problem set."

"Why?" Dan asked, finally draining his mug.

Sarah paused at the entryway to the kitchen. "To rid myself of some guilt," she replied honestly, going into the den.

"Okay then," Dan said, saluting her with his mug and walking over to the coffee machine.

"I should get going too," Allison said, leaving the room.

"So," Dan said, getting back to his seat.

"Yup," Ranma said, resuming his meal.

Dan took a long pull from his refilled cup. "Ah, congealing."

Ranma looked at the mug. It was a simple ceramic mug, glazed dark blue. On the surface was an intricate inverted grey "V", a gate chevron, and inside that were the letters SGC. "You get that from the show's website?"

"Something like that," Dan said, taking another sip.

"I know you're trying to bait me into asking about how you got that mug."

Dan simply shrugged.

"Sometimes I wonder how much that blonde has warped you," Ranma said, just before he mentally connected the dots.

Dan watched as the other teen's face darkened slightly.

"So. You've had sex as a girl?" Ranma asked, a bit more than slightly unnerved.

"Well, it was with Allison, so technically…." Dan paused, considering the technicalities of the issue. "Sure. I guess I did."

"But why?"

"What? Both forms have their pros and cons," Dan stated in a voice that would normally be used to decide between two brands of shaving cream: the Gillette cream goes on smoother while the Pro-Edge shaves closer.

Ranma blinked, and then slowly, deliberately rammed his head into the table.

"To tell you the truth, I had a similar reaction at first, but you get used to it," Dan said before taking another sip of coffee.

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Opening the back door, Ranma looked up the mountain. For Wyoming, it was a smallish hill, but that's for Wyoming. "Damn," he muttered, noticing the flag fluttering at the top of the pole. The observation was punctuated by a rifle shot cracking down the slope.

"Amazing," Ranma thought as he walked up the path, relatively at ease to the gunfire. No danger sense, no sounds of commotion, just someone practicing before school. Something that he was planning to do.

Reaching the leveled ground of the range, Ranma turned to see Allison lying on the ground. Cradled by her shoulder and arms was a powerful-looking rifle. Running along the top of it was a largish scope. Ranma watched as the blonde lined her sight up through the scope, gently swiveled the gun into position, curled her index finger so that it was just over the trigger, calculated for wind and bullet drop, confirmed her target, flipped off the safety, then holding her breath and stabilizing the weapon perfectly, she applied a gentle consistent pressure to that flange of metal.

As it released its projectile, the gun bucked up slightly. The girl brought it back down, and then worked the bolt. After twisting the lever attached to the side of the bolt, she pulled it back, releasing the spent brass. She then slammed the bolt back home, the mechanism picking up another cartridge from the magazine, ramming it up the feeder ramp and into the breach. Twisting the bolt back again secured the chamber, seated the bullet and cycled the action.

The blonde repeated her sighting process and fired another round.

Ranma would never understand weapons users, especially those who preferred firearms. He could give the devices an extremely begrudging respect. Granted, there was something to the smooth cold precision to them, the sense of power, and ultimately, responsibility; but still. They seemed a cheap, cowardly way out. A shortcut to gain power and range. Something that was very far from the Art.

When he told Sarah that, the girl cocked her head to the side and laughed slightly. She agreed completely. For her, Dan, and the others, fighting had no spiritual side, no grace, and no beauty. It was ugly, dirty, hateful work.

When you pulled that trigger on someone, it would do significant damage. A skilled person could prevent lethal shots, but even a wound to the extremities would shatter bone, tear muscle, destroy flesh. There was no way around it. The shot you fired could not be pulled back and the consequences must be accepted.

This formed a vastly different approach to combat than Ranma was used to. In Nerima, a fight could break out, and while there would be massive property damage and people would get hurt, they'd be fine in a few days. There was no permanence to it. As maddening as the fights were, they were mostly harmless. The Art centered on using just enough power as the situation warranted.

Here, things were a bit different. Ranma remembered when Ned sniped that mech, fully intent on killing the pilot. He didn't know that it was remotely operated and accepted the very likely possibility that he would end a life. But that was the mentality here; you did what was necessary to survive combat, and if that meant killing the enemy, then oh well. They shouldn't have attacked you in the first place.

Only the hacker bitch's unwillingness to show herself or employ human lackeys prevented someone from being killed.

He then remembered something that Sarah had told him. "'God may have created man, but Samuel Colt made him equal'. Maybe that's why people don't like guns. It makes a level playing field. That's the problem with equalizers; many are not satisfied with being 'equal'." Sarah had gone on, but that was the only part that had stuck in his mind. The rest of what his sister said boiled down into that venerable quote from Ben Parker: "With great power comes great responsibility."

And what if guns allowed the irresponsible to get power quickly and easily? Should the responsible and law-abiding be punished because of the deeds of others? Should the rights of all be restricted due to the actions of criminals and incompetents, and if so, how much?

Ranma had no idea as to the answers of these questions, but he had seen the argument from the other side. He knew people who had given the majority of their life to, or spent the majority of their life at, arts, and for what? To make a mockery of the Art. To use their skills to steal, cheat, and bully. Years of skill and technique squandered on petty rivalries.

Honor seemed to be less dependent on the weapon than on the individual; it relied more on how one fought and for what one fought than the weapon used.

Allison had fired her last round. She dropped the empty clip into her hand, and looked over her shoulder to see the standing teen. "Hey, Ran-Man. I'm about done now."

Ranma raised his eyebrow. "I thought only Dan called me that."

Allison shrugged as she got up and went downrange to retrieve her targets.

"Nice," Ranma remarked when she got back.

"Not really. Some of my shots strayed out of the X-ring," Allison remarked, pointing to the few ragged holes that were not quite entirely inside the innermost circle.

Ranma looked at the embankment where Allison had taken her targets from, at the far end of the range — easily over two hundred yards. Skill and control are not the exclusive domains of martial arts. A gun is just that, a tool. A rather powerful tool, one that could kill, but so could anything else, really. And like any tool, especially those that are weapons as well, firearms require a certain amount of skill, respect, responsibility, and even reverence to be used to their full potential.

Ranma glanced at the complex, yet elegantly simple machine. It wasn't something that he would truly understand or love, and truth be told, still loathed. But from the perspective of one professional to another, he could respect the people who used them, if not the devices themselves.

"All yours," Allison said. She disassembled her gun and placed the parts into their carrying case. She then handed him a small handheld computer. On its screen was the incoming feed from the sensor net. The display was clear of echoes. Allison knelt down to retrieve her brass, pocketing the spent casings — undoubtedly saving them so they could be used again to make new rounds.

"Right," Ranma said, eyeing the now open range. It was amazing how a few words could turn a no man's land into a simple field. He watched the blonde pick up her gun case and walk down the path back to the house.

Ranma looked at the small palm-pilot. Using the touchpad, he set it so that it would set off an alarm if the sensor net detected something… out of place. He pocketed the computer, still wary of trusting such a mechanism.

Falling into a familiar stance, Ranma allowed his body to execute a set of moves, before falling into another block of commands.

Balance, control, technique.

Ranma's mind cleared, concentrating only on the flawless performance of muscle and bone, body and mind. Like an MP3 ripper thumbing through his playlists, or a book collector walking his stacks, or a winetaster sampling his finest vintages, Ranma scrolled though his own collection, reacquainting himself with old moves and past fights. Then using these past elements as a baseline, he expanded out, recombining, innovating, creating.

Optimization, improvisation, planning.

After a minute or so, an errant thought entered his mind. I really shouldn't have lied to Sarah at breakfast. Ranma allowed this thought to roll in his mind while he queued up another kata.

I didn't lie to her, he added.

Yes, I did, Ranma thought next in his curious little monologue.

Nope. I did have problems sleeping.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that I was sleeping as a girl?

But I was a guy when I went to bed.

Yup. Really should have told them about that.

Nah, it's just the curse.

And what about the negligee?

It's just that damn ring I now have in my girl-form.

And nothing about the dreams.

What dreams? Ranma thought, but there he hit a dead end. The martial artist knew that he dreamed, but rarely could he remember them in the morning. It was only those few that unnerved him that stuck into his mind, like that one about Kuno, or the one with the pit filled with glowing, hungry eyes.

The reminder of the neko-ken almost made him pause, but Ranma was in mid-flip. It wasn't until he made the landing that he stopped. Ranma pushed those thoughts aside, or tried to. Even when it was locked away in a far-off corner of his mind, the "training" still left its taint, a sickly-sweet trail of madness. It was another part of the legacy of Genma.

Still standing, Ranma tried to concentrate on something else. It was common knowledge that purposely trying not to think of something was one of the surest ways of getting it stuck in your mind, so Ranma tried to think about other things.

Anything to keep his mind off the dark and the yellow eyes. No, stop that. Think of something else, anything else.

Cereal. Yes, that would do the trick. Nice crunchy cereal. Wholesome grains supersaturated with sugars, dyes, and luminescent filaments. "Damned dead idiot," Ranma muttered, mentally cataloging his breakfast: Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, special glow-in-the-dark version, milk, two percent, pulpy orange juice — well not that pulpy, a little but not too much…

That was it: nice, dry, dull, mind-filling nonsense. What else, Ranma thought when his forced interest began to wane. Hey, I used a bowl too, a glass and a spoon. Spoons, they're funny things, Ranma silently monologued while visualizing the mirrored flatware.

Huh, why'd I take note of that? I mean yeah, spoons are shiny. So what? his train of thought continued.

The spoon does nothing save distort reflections.

Great. I'm getting weird again. Oh well, beats the alternative.

Then again, all reflections are distortions of reality.

Yes, very nice. Good to have a distracting train of thought.

That's why the spoon was so disturbing; it was a reminder of earlier in the morning.

What? I woke up and went to the bathroom, and then… Oh crap.

Oh crap, indeed.

I was girl. Didn't go to sleep as one, and I didn't notice that I was one.

That wasn't what set me off.

What then? Ranma asked, only to be met with mental silence.

At least that got my mind off of those things, Ranma thought, resuming losing himself in the Art.

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Allison stood at the back door to the house, holding the field glasses that she kept in her gun case. She pulled them out after seeing some movement from the range. Considering the small glen of trees that sat between the house and the terraced land, that she even noticed Ranma was noteworthy. It was just a glimpse; something she caught out of the corner of her eye.

She had turned, having some idea of what to expect, but still awed and more than a little jealous.

Perhaps awe is a bit weak, Allison thought as she watched the martial artist. Amazed may be more appropriate, Allison appended. He's more powerful than most templates right now. No, it's not quite power. More like skill and control. Allison could have dwelt on the sheer wonderment of these feats, but that was less interesting than how Ranma became this way, and how being like this affected him.

Here was someone with dedication, someone who'd spent their whole life working to obtain one goal. Well, Ranma was not that singleminded, but he was close. Her eyes, while being rather sharp, could not quite range the distance. She had then opened her gun case to get out the small pair of binoculars kept there.

Putting them to her eyes, she had watched him, observing the blurred movements; this was someone with complete, perhaps obsessive, dedication. If he chose to, Ranma could, within a matter of days, match and surpass weapons skills that she had spent years on.

Allison added pity to the mix of emotions, something that she rarely felt, for this focus came with a price. Ranma's life seemed to be a string of other people's mistakes, as if he was the receptacle the universe used to dump the remainder of its chaos. Even here, where Ranma had a reasonably stable home life and family that he could count on, he was plagued by outside circumstances.

He was different, alien, special, and unique. Even in a place like Lockridge, he was something else. If Ranma ever embraced that cursed template of his, what she could do would be terrible and beautiful.

Allison knew that her jealousy was normal. To not be moved by that teen's symphony of flesh would be a dangerous denial of reality. The blonde knew she had her own things that made her unique; the quicksilver gland, her mechanical and computer skills, Dan. But more important was Allison's drive to not be petty. She knew what that kind of insecurity did to people.

Watching Ranma, she noticed something sad about the scene. He was practicing in a blank field. It looked artificial, imposed, like watching a bear in a cage. Allison knew that Ranma normally practiced somewhere out in the vast forested hills that extended around the house, but now, with the sensor net and the knowledge that they were being watched, Ranma was restricted.

No one told him that he had to practice there today, just like no one told him he had to sleep as a girl while in his sister's room. To Allison, these seemed to be the result of him being Japanese. A sense of obligation or burden to politeness; nothing too large, no formalities in his speech (but that could be due to the issue of language) no overt politeness, just little things. Allison believed that Sarah said it best: Man, Nerima sure did a mind-job on you.

Or perhaps Ranma felt guilty that people he'd known for less than a month were willing to fight for him, and that his presence had gotten them hurt. Allison knew that to be false; their hacker bitch had been messing with their files for some time now. Ranma may have been a catalyst to these events, but that hardly placed him at fault. As for helping him, that's what you do for family. Ranma was her boyfriend's cousin, and that was that.

Then something odd happened. Ranma stopped. Allison watched him stand there, his mouth closed, his face guarded, but still the blonde had the nagging sensation that he was in a conversation, or maybe having a little internal monologue. She had seen people space out like this before, but not Ranma. Well, this could be a normal part of his training regimen, Allison thought, refocusing her binoculars.

"And what are you doing?" Sarah asked through the ajar doorway.

"Just watching Ranma," Allison said, slightly startled at the redhead's sudden appearance. "I thought you were studying," the blonde stated, letting the binoculars rest on the strap that she had fed around her neck

"I gave up," Sarah said, coming out onto the back porch.

"Good for you."

Sarah made a grab for the binoculars, the blonde choking as she was pulled in close. "If I didn't already know you were like this, I'd be unsettled," Sarah said, looking at her sibling.

Allison wrenched the magnifying device out of the other girl's hands. 'What? It's not like I'm related to him."

"Her," Sarah said, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh," Allison said. Sure enough, the pigtailed teen had resumed practicing, this time possessing red hair. The blonde then focused in on Ranma. "Well, at least she's got the sense to wear a bra now."

"I will not have you corrupt my entire family," Sarah remarked, mostly joking. "And besides, you know that Ranma's like that because of that stupid ring."

"You know as much as she does what it's like with those things," Allison remarked, ignoring one redhead and intently watching the other.

"I'm not going to let you draw me into an argument about breasts."

"Aw. Why not? They are very fun."

Sarah looked at the maddeningly jovial expression on the other girl's face. Her eye twitched slightly. "No. No. Not going to. Just walk away, O'Neil," Sarah muttered, retreating back into the house.

Allison smirked. Sometimes it was so easy.

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Dan was working in the garage. The hood to the beast was open. A collection of cables of various sizes ran from the guts of the machine into a laptop balanced over the coolant reservoir. Sitting on the nicely warm manifold was the pot of coffee from breakfast.

Whistling a little tune that would have made Jhonen Vasquez shudder and H.P. Lovecraft crave the sweet release of opium — that is until, Cthulhu's big buddy realized that he should really stop pining after Poe — Dan fiddled with his machines. After all, just because a deranged cyborg was happily working on a vehicle made to look like Chevy had a factory on Z'Ha'Dum — or at least hired out certain associates to consult the design — was no reason to be concerned. The squirming black paint, the refurbished helicopter engine, the various upgrades… these were eccentric, but mostly harmless.

However, the device that bore a strong resemblance to a piece of artillery was another matter. It sat in the bay next to the truck and looked to be a cross between a heavy machine gun and small cannon. Indeed, the two parallel barrels and the elevated frame seemed to confirm this assessment.

Idle thoughts passed through Dan's mind as he worked between the truck, computer, largish weapon, and the various tool chests. "I like pants. Doom! What this thing needs is a decent fire-control computer. Ohio will pay for its impudence. No, we need more power in the drive train. Doom? My boobs itch. Okay, this bolt isn't metric or US customary. What the hell? We don't have breasts. Use a vise-grip. Sometimes we do. Someone entered the room. Be quiet about those damn pants, what we need is a fish magnet. Those don't exist. So, it's just Ran-Man. Need Caffeine. Allison may be trying to kill me. So? She's hot. I still say we should put in wire guidance. Mmmm, manifold brewed. She's looking at us funny. There is no us. So you say."

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At first Ranma was amused when she entered the workshop. She watched the older teen, sans his ubiquitous trench coat, scuttled around the room, quietly muttering to himself. It was after Dan looked up and said something about fish or magnets and then returned to work that Ranma grew concerned.

After shouting his name a few times, Ranma finally got Dan to look up. The response was pleasantly coherent.

"Oh sorry, I just kinda zoned out," Dan said before he noticed exactly what Ranma was wearing. It was bit unusual, but not much.

"No problem," Ranma said, knowing all to well what that was like. "It was bad enough when Earthforce adapted Shadow Tech, but at least they used it in spaceships," Ranma observed, looking at the truck.

"Ah, so you've watched some B5 after all," Dan said, amused.

"A little," Ranma admitted.

"So what can I do for you?" Dan said, cleaning his hands with Permatex Fast Orange fine pumice handcleaner. "We don't have to leave for ten minutes or so."

"Well, things haven't exactly been going well lately," Ranma said.

"Ran-Man, it's me, Dan. You can trust me," he said, making his eyes glow slightly.

"Um, right. Have you had any strange things happening with your curse?"

"Well, there was this one time after Allison has just put her—"

"Stop," Ranma sternly said. "Anything else?"

"Well, in a few weeks there may be some natural degradation."

"Degradation?"

"Unlike your curse, mine's a copy, and since Calash really can't decode the curse, it's not perfect. That, and non-Calash magic's always been fluky here."

"Oh, so it's falling apart?" Ranma said, not at all relieved on that prospect. Without the curse, she could not turn back into a guy, though this did help explain some of the problems with her curse.

"Yeah, but I can just reinstall it."

"Ah, well, that's good," Ranma said, knowing that the same could be done for her. "So aside from that, you've got nothing weird with you?"

"Nope," Dan said, gathering and putting away his tools. "What's going on? You still upset that I'm using the curse like this?"

"Well, a little bit. It's just that for a while, my curse and the template's been acting off."

"Ah. That ring? Don't worry; sometimes templates have leakage into the host's mundane form. Allison's still got the quicksilver gland in her head, and I have a couple of things. Undoubtedly, you've got access to some of your stuff. It makes sense. Often times magical girls can use certain powers untransformed."

"I am not a magical girl," Ranma said, despite the little rose ring and the matching theme in her wardrobe.

"Yes, you are," Dan replied gleefully. "But hey, so are Sarah and Allison."

Ranma looked at Dan, sighing. "Are you gonna listen to what I'm saying?"

"Um, okay," Dan said, just a little distracted.

"You know how I was a bit out of it at breakfast?"

"Nope," Dan replied cheerfully.

"Oh yeah. Well, that's not the point; I was out practicing later, and, as you can see, changed."

Dan cleared the engine compartment of foreign parts and was about to close the hood. "So? Seems reasonable enough to train in both forms," Dan said, trying not to notice the little shorts and tight rose-print tee that the redhead was wearing. He wasn't doing too badly; she did look like his cousin. Well, maybe not identical, but rather close. That helped a lot, and in Dan's defense, Ranma was a rather stretchy girl.

"That's not it," Ranma said, ignoring Dan. Damn, I should have changed back before I came to talk to him, she thought, before entertaining the thought of telling Allison what Dan was doing. On the one hand, she might punish Dan, but on the other hand, the neurotic blonde might be into it. Ranma remembered seeing Allison try to hide those binoculars and shuddered.

In the end, she decided not to, recalling exactly how Allison punished her boyfriend. Back in Nerima, there were girls after him and there were people after his girl side, but there weren't any girls after his girl side… Well, there was that one time. "Dan! Look up here," Ranma said, snapping her fingers.

"Sorry," Dan replied sheepishly. "Hell of a time to forget my sunglasses," he muttered under his breath.

Ranma let the remark slide and continued. "The problem is that I didn't know I'd changed until I was done."

"So? That's happened to me," Dan said nonchalantly as he closed the hood.

Ranma paused, glaring at the darkly dressed teen.

"Oh yeah, you don't want to hear any of those stories."

"Why do I even try talking to you?" Ranma said, rubbing her temples. Then noticing Dan's slight amusement. she continued, "Anyway the problem is that it doesn't feel like a problem. I mean, I unconsciously turn into a girl, and don't notice it until my top gets tangled in my bra, and the worst part is that it doesn't feel wrong or twisted."

"Well. it did feel tang—" Dan started.

"No, no puns," Ranma said, cutting him off, realizing what she'd just said.

"Okay then," Dan said, before responding to the topic at hand. "So you're getting used to the curse?"

"No! That's the problem. It should be driving me crazy, but it isn't!"

"Yes, it is," Dan said flatly.

"No, the fact that I'm not going crazy from all this crap with curse and template is making me nuts."

"Stop analyzing this shit. Okay?" Dan said calmly. "See this?" he said, holding up his left arm. Midway between the wrist and elbow of the limb was a long, thin scar that encircled the arm in an oblique slant.

"Didn't that happen in your template?"

"Yes, but remember your temp isn't some separate entity. It is a part of you," Dan stated, picking up his coat.

"Point being?"

"Just that," Dan said, slipping the black trench on. With his black boots, pants, and shirt, all that was missing were those dark sunglasses.

"So you're saying that since the template's a part of me, the weird shit it pulls wouldn't make me feel all unsettled," Ranma said skeptically

"Um, sure. Why not?" Dan stated, taking a pull at the coffee pot.

"But that's the exact sort of thing that should freak me out!" Ranma exclaimed.

"So you're freaking out at not freaking out. Same result."

"No, this thing's…" Ranma said, holding up her ring, "…pulling all this shit with me, and you say it's going to feel normal to me."

"Yeah, that's about it."

"If it wasn't already happening to me…." Ranma trailed off, not wanting to complete the thought.

"I know," Dan admitted, understanding the implication. "But at least you're not going around like a ditzy magical girl."

"Yet," Ranma glumly appended.

Dan shrugged noncommittally.

"I'm real glad we had this little talk," Ranma said sarcastically before leaving the garage.

"Me too," Dan said solemnly once Ranma had left.

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"Now, why are we going to school today?" Ranma asked from the back seat.

"Well, we do have a problem set due in physics class," Sarah said.

"Huh? I thought we were in chemistry class?"

"We've got both this semester."

"That explains why my notes don't make any sense," Ranma said with some slight relief.

"You still take notes?" Allison remarked from her customary front seat.

"Why do I even try?" Sarah stated.

"Hey, Ran-Man, you've got mail," Dan remarked as he flipped through the contents of their mailbox.

Allison's face darkened. "Never, ever, say that phrase again." The blonde held out her hand to Dan, the quicksilver beginning to drip off the nails.

"Um… okay," Dan said, chastising himself for the slip-up. Allison had no problem with incantations or sacrifices to mad gods, but make one comment about a certain company…. "I was just saying that Ran-Man's got some mail."

"What?" Ranma asked, concern on his face. For some reason the prospect of getting mail disturbed him greatly.

"Well, that's great. Is it some statement of challenge, or whatever the hell those knuckleheads in Nerima do?" Sarah inquired.

"It could be from our hacker bitch. She seems like the type to get the kick out of taunting us through snail-mail," Allison suggested.

"Oh, it's worse than that," Dan remarked, handing over the letter.

Ranma skimmed the symbols on the envelope, with growing relief, "So what? It's just a credit card application."

"Don't you see?" Allison said, turning to face Ranma her eyes enclosed in silver.

"It knows you are here. It knows your name," she said in a charged voice.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at the blonde's theatrics before tearing the junk mail in half.

"Oh, very nice," Sarah said clapping her hands. "But Lita was a redhead, wasn't she? Oh, and her eyes turned black."

"Actually," Allison said, dissipating the quicksilver. "It was Ivanova who said that one."

"Oh. Sorry, then."

"This does raise the question of how this company found me," Ranma said.

"Not really. Hell, my cousin once got one of those addressed to his dog," Allison remarked.

"Hmm. Was that the one with the glass eye, or the one in the asylum?" Dan asked, returning to the pile of mail.

"No, it was Bill."

"Ah, he writes for 'Soldier of Fortune', doesn't he?"

"That's the one."

"Huh? I didn't expect them to get this out that fast," Dan said.

"Oh, your card came?" Allison asked.

"Yup," Dan said, handing over the solid-looking envelope.

Allison tore into the envelope, withdrawing a small laminated card. "Man, there's no such thing as a good driver's license photo," the blonde remarked at the little photo.

"My bangs didn't even line up evenly," Dan noted while looking at the ID card.

"Bangs?" Ranma asked, looking at Dan's hair. It was buzzed short and flat, to fit with the rest of his "deranged in black" look. The only time Dan's even had bangs was… and then Ranma figured it out. "You got a fake diver's license for your girl-form? Why?"

"Oh, it's quite real," Dan said, taking the envelope and card from Allison's hands and handing it over to Ranma.

The quasi-legal alien looked at the letter. It was addressed to: Dianna Arzish / 137 Wyrm Rd / Lockridge, WY 82336, and had the return address of Sweetwater County Clerk's Office / 80 West Flaming Gorge Way /P.O. Box 730 / Green River, WY 82935. The card that came with it looked like a legitimate Wyoming state driver's license, or at least it matched the other one that Dan currently carried, and the picture was of a certain red-eyed girl.

"Erika told us how to do it," Allison said, fiddling with the truck's radio.

"Well that makes sense. She had to create an identity for herself somehow."

"And Gos does like to infiltrate government systems."

"Yup. Once you know where the holes are in the system, it's fairly easy to put in what you need."

"And then you got them to send you a replacement license," Sarah said.

"Yup. I just mailed them some laminated paper fragments and said the original caught fire," Dan smirked, pleased with himself.

"It does help that the paper pushers over in Green River aren't too anal," Allison added, still messing with the radio's buttons.

"Still, why'd you do this?" Ranma asked.

"What?" Dan asked, putting the documentation in one of his coat's pockets.

"Okay, let me try it a bit more direct. Why did you make a false identity for your girl-form?"

"You can never have too many aliases," he said, while putting the rest of the mail in the console between the front seats. Dan then put the vehicle in gear, pulling away from the mailbox and turning out of the driveway.

"That almost answered my question."

"Glad to be of help." Then, turning to Allison: "What are you doing? It's just the radio. If you want to mess with something, the guidance systems are right next to it."

"I'm just setting the presets so I won't miss my show," Allison said.

"Ah, talk radio, the easy way for fanatics to spread their word," Dan said.

"He's not a religious nut," Allison said.

"He likened Starfox to Jesus,"

"Actually, it was Nintendo."

"I do not think the cube is the product of divine intervention."

"Oh, but you do believe that the X-Box was conjured from the depths of Hell."

"Well, it is just common sense," Dan replied.

"Do I want to know?" Ranma asked.

"Honestly? No," Sarah answered, slightly exasperated.

"It doesn't seem that bad," Ranma said, looking at the couple in the front two seats.

"Okay, fine then. Allison listens to this radio show, called "Saved Games with Father Ward". It's okay, but she really likes it. Dan, however, can't stand it."

"Oh," Ranma said, mulling over the fact. "So Allison likes Christian-themed gaming advice?" Ranma said only with slight skepticism. Gamers as a whole seemed to be rather eccentric.

"That's about right."

"Why wouldn't Dan like that? He's all reverent about l33tness," Ranma said, that word feeling especially odd on his tongue.

"That's the problem. Dan thinks that a Christian gaming philosophy is too aloof and rigid, while Allison professes that a l33t philosophy is indulgent and hedonistic."

"They disagree on gaming theology?" Ranma asked, confused that there was such a thing.

"Well, only on some of the finer points of interoperation. They both think that gaming is a very spiritual experience."

"This is insane," Ranma declared, looking out the window. "These are just games we're talking about."

Sarah's face darkened a bit. "You're technically right. The game itself is nothing. It is only until a person uses it as a conduit that it achieves purpose."

"Oh-kay," Ranma backpedaled, "I was just surprised that Allison would dislike anything indulgent."

Sarah smiled, despite herself. "You're fairly good at side-stepping issues, aren't you?"

"Come on, Ranma. You don't think I'm just some perverted sociopath who does whatever she damn well pleases?" Allison asked, switching conversations.

"It's just that you're not into l33t. I thought all you gamers were into that stuff."

Allison laughed. It was a strangely unpleasant sound. "Yes, I should accept the debased speech used by a pack of inept fools, punks, and losers."

"The great fault of l33t is that it possesses many false prophets and unworthy adherents, but those who are true to the path shall triumph."

"Then why don't you believe?" Allison asked.

"Just listen to your show, okay?" Dan said, concentrating on his driving.

Ranma looked curiously at Sarah, who simply shook her head.

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"This is why we came to school today," Dan said, pointing to the screen.

Ranma looked at the spreadsheet. It contained a list of names, aliases, physical features, skill levels, short bios, and other information. A significant fraction of the largish cells were blank. The first row was especially sparse. All it contained was a rather unflattering alias, a gender, a list of hacked systems and stolen files, and an estimate on skill level.

"This is all we have on her?" Ranma asked.

"Well, she somehow managed to get within range to imprint you that day," Dan said, adding that data.

"And now you compare her data to the list you've made," Ranma supposed.

"Yup," Dan agreed, pulling up another list. "These are the Lockridge girls who could have pulled it off."

"Berkley, Carter, Langley, Norfolk, O'Neil, Stevens, and Terson," Ranma read off the screen. "O'Neil? Terson?" Ranma asked.

Allison looked at Sarah. "Well, we are fairly good."

"I'm surprised your name didn't come up, Dianna," Sarah said.

"Good point," Dan said, expanding the criteria to both genders. The list now read: Arzish, Berkley, Carter, Dorsey, Langley, Morris, Norfolk, O'Neil, Smith, Stevens, Terson, and Winston.

"So this is it?" Ranma said, glancing over the rather small list.

"Yes. These are the people capable enough in Calash and able to get into very secure systems," Dan said. "Lockridge is a small town."

"Well, cut out you three; and I guess Erika can be removed," Ranma said, looking over the list.

"Done," Dan said. The names were now Carter, Dorsey, Langley, Morris, Norfolk, Smith, Stevens, and Winston.

"So, you trust us. Interesting," Allison said in a calm, amused voice.

"Don't make a bad situation worse," Sarah stated.

"What? One of us could easily be doing it," Allison said while grinning ever so slightly.

"So, Ranma. What about Spooky and his holographic girl?" Dan asked.

"He admitted to making the template, and he moved here. He has lived in fear his whole life. I don't think he would do something like this, or be stupid enough to come here. If Gos was behind this, he'd be in Prague or Brazil, someplace far away."

"He made that template, Ranma. It was obviously a form of revenge. Gos was probably too scared to ever use it, but the intent was there."

"Okay, so who's first?"

"Abigail Carter," Dan read.

"Stick in the mud," Allison remarked.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree," Sarah said.

"Who's she?" Ranma asked.

"Hmm," Allison mused as she walked over to the Student Lounges' railing. "Ah, there she is," the blonde said, pointing to glass fronting on the school.

"Where?"

"Front yard, to the right of the sidewalk, under the second tree."

Ranma followed the directions to see a long-haired brunette reading in the shade of a smallish maple.

"Any guesses on what she's reading?" Allison asked, rummaging in her bag.

"It'd say it's a second edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy," Dan said, squinting slightly behind his dark shades.

"Five book version, or four?" Sarah asked.

"We'll see," Allison said, finally pulling out her binoculars. "Wait," she said, about to look into the field glasses. She slowly turned around, studying her boyfriend's face. "Ah ha!" the blonde announced when she saw the slight reddish glow from behind Dan's sunglasses.

"You think she's behind this?" Ranma asked, looking at Sarah, who was shaking her head.

"Well, I was friends with Abby during grade school. She's a nice enough girl. A bit dry, but okay."

"That's an understatement. She's as dull as a bag of doorknobs," Allison said, watching the girl under the tree. "You know what she does with her Calash potential?"

"What?" Ranma asked, hoping that Allison's statements won't be too off the wall.

"Miniatures. She makes tiny little models of things."

"She is rather good. You know the kind of detail and patience needed to do that," Sarah said.

"That, and her database skills are the reason she's in here," Dan added, rechecking his spreadsheet.

"Database?"

"Yeah, she's eerie," Sarah stated, leaning on the lounge's railing. "Put her in front of a linked list, array, or what-have-you, and she'll make it dance."

"Gee, I wonder why," Allison deadpanned, looking over the redhead's shoulder.

"It's that exact kind of concentration that we're looking for," Dan said.

"You think she's our hacker?" Ranma asked, looking at the girl. She seemed so normal and calm. He looked back at his friends and sighed. At first glance, they looked normal too. Ranma thought on that matter for a minute. No, that wasn't exactly true. That first meeting with Dan was rather unsettling, Sarah had been practicing with her shotgun, and Allison had appeared out of nowhere. No, as always, normality was a rare commodity in Ranma's life.

"She could be," Dan said. "Sarah, you've known her. Could she be behind it?"

Sarah looked back at the girl. "Well, she probably has the abilities to do it, provided that she's spent the last few years studying how to hack like that; but as we've said, she has that kind of patience."

"Rating?" Allison asked.

"Three-Five"

"Really that high?" Dan said, puzzlement edging his voice.

"Sure. She's a possible."

"You guys have a ranking system?" Ranma said, observing the insanity.

"Yes. It's actually quite simple. You see, it's based on the probability of a statement being true combined with a risk factor. Numbers are obviously assigned in increasing gradients."

"So you just rate from one to ten, or something like that."

"It's cooler the way I say it."

"I'm sure it is. So what are we going to do about her?"

"I'll talk to Abby later today," Sarah said.

"Right, like she'll just break down and confess," Allison remarked. "Our hacker's too clever for that."

"I'm counting on that. If Abby is the hacker bitch and I call her out, what do you think she's going to do? No, I'm going to ask her if she's had any of her archives broken into lately."

"She may be paranoid enough to try and dispatch you right then and there," Dan said.

"At least then we'll know who we're up against."

"I'm not so sure," Dan said, filling in Abby's profile. "We will talk about this later. Hmm. Dorsey, Fred."

"Didn't his family live next door to yours?" Allison observed.

"Yes, back when Mom was alive and we lived in my father's house."

"You know him well?" Ranma asked.

"We lived a couple miles apart, but yeah, we were pals."

"What happened?"

"After the accident, I moved in with the O'Neil's and we drifted apart. It happens."

"Why's he on the list?"

"He specializes in template upgrades."

"Really."

"There are a lot of people who can make a template, but it just won't turn out very good. For a nominal fee, he helps them."

"I thought you guys don't need money, what with all your illegal back-dealings."

"Oh, he doesn't get paid in money. He barters for favors and such."

"If these people couldn't make a decent template…."

Dan cut him off. "Just because they can't program a temp doesn't mean they don't have other talents. I remember this one time Fred re-built the servo system for some Iron Man fan out in Boise and got design prints to some DOD satellite tech."

"So you think he could have integrated the template Gos designed with the Organic tech that Erika developed?"

"Absolutely," Dan said from his machine.

"Rating?" Allison asked.

"Four-four," Dan proposed.

"I'd have to agree with that," Sarah said, reading the spreadsheet.

"You want to handle him like Abby?" Allison asked.

"I can do that," Dan remarked with reserve, his face neutral. He remained silent while typing in the updated profile.

"So, who's next?" Sarah asked.

"Langley," Dan read, staring at the screen. "Rebecca Langley."

Sarah turned to the blonde with a slight grin. "I guess this is your field."

Allison glared at the redhead before glancing over at Dan, who was now reading the log on Rebecca.

"Are we talking about the same girl that Allison dated before Dan?"

"Yes," Dan said. "Why don't you tell Ran-Man about her? I mean, you did know her the best of all of us," he said rather calmly.

Allison inhaled sharply before starting. "Rebecca's a nice enough girl. It's just that she distances herself from others. She has a hard time getting close to people. She did lose both her parents."

"Allison, you're one of the only people I know that still has both of her parents," Sarah stated flatly.

Ranma looked over at his sister. Even though her father was still alive, Jack was never around. It was almost as if he was in the military and out on assignment, and in their increasingly unnerving acceptance, Dan and Sarah simply took his absence in stride. It did make sense that the elder O'Neil be missing like that. Granted, policing a place like Lockridge seemed to be an immense task, but considering the recent attacks were centered on his own family, one would assume that the sheriff would take a more active role. Whenever Ranma made inquires into this, whether it was with Jack himself or one of the other members of the O'Neil household, he received a mix of blank stares and thin explanations relating to separation of powers and jurisdiction.

Ranma sighed. Jack was working on something, but people seemed to either keep it a secret or simply not tell them. As he thought this over, the others continued their discussion about the Langley girl. From their discussion, it became apparent that this girl, much like Allison, had a strange sense of humor, although she preferred to simply observe the antics of others. The blonde maintained that while Langley had the skills to pull something like this off, she would not care to put in the effort to do it.

"Just talk to her about it," Dan said, making some notes on the spreadsheet.

"Okay, but I don't think that she's behind this," Allison maintained.

"If you think your bias will get in the way—" Sarah started to suggest before she was cut off.

"No, if she is the hacker bitch, I will be the first to know," Allison vowed.

"Good. Moving on," Dan said. "Bradford Morris."

"How the hell did that prick end up in there?" Allison exclaimed.

"Say what you will about him, he is a good mod at templates."

"Like that Fred guy?" Ranma said.

"Pretty much," Sarah agreed.

"I wouldn't say that much," a new voice added.

Ranma turned to see one of his classmates standing in front of their table. It was the unremarkable brunette that was nonplused by his curse. He thought her name started with a J and ended with a vowel.

"Hey, Julie," Sarah said cautiously. "Sorry, we're just having a conversation."

"It's fine. You guys just watch it around Brad. He can be a real pain."

"Okay," Sarah said, then turning to her brother. "Ranma, this is Julie Winston."

"We've met," Ranma said.

"Yes, it was about a week ago, wasn't it? You were the one with that gender virus," Julie recalled.

"Yeah, that's me," Ranma sighed.

"Where's Ned?" Dan asked. "He didn't come to school today."

"After he came back from your place last night, he went straight to his room and then down to his workshop. I remember because when he moved some equipment out of his room, it woke me up. I opened the door to see him carting some crates to the elevator."

"And this was after he helped us last night?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. So this morning I stopped off to see if he was ready to go to school. He normally drives me, but he said he was skipping, that he had a lot of work to do."

"So how'd you get here?" Allison asked, still watching the outside of the school.

"I carpooled with Reggie and the other security people. Their shift change was close enough."

"So they're still cleaning up," Allison noted. From the lounge's windows, she could not see the WIC worksite. The fight with the guymelef had taken place in the fields immediately behind the school.

"Yes. Ned wants to get all the information he can from that wreck."

"So what is he up to now?" Dan asked.

"I have no idea," Julie said. "The only people he's allowing in his workshops are Dave, our Security Chief, and the head of the Teakettle facility."

"Strange."

"Not really. Sometimes he gets an idea and locks himself in his workshop for a few days. The extra security doesn't even really mean much. Ned's always been a bit paranoid. Unlike some people, he doesn't let it get to him."

"You still having problems with Brad?" Sarah observed.

"Don't say that jackass' name," Julie hissed, her eyes darting around the lounge and the foyer below.

"I don't see why you don't have Ned and some of his associates rough him up," Dan observed.

"We've tried. It doesn't work," Julie said. "Crap, there he is," she said, looking at the stairs leading up to the lounge.

Ranma looked over to see this Brad person. A bit shorter than Dan, he had blond hair parted on the right and gray eyes. His clothing seemed a bit more expensive than what most of the students wore, but was still fairly practical. His stride was quite confident, as his eyes scanned the lounge, gauging his fellow students.

"Hey, Julie," Brad said, once he reached the top of the stairs.

"Go away," Julie said, looking past him.

"Come on, you don't really mean that," he replied, his smile showing a surprising amount of teeth.

"The girl told you to leave. I suggest you do so," Dan said, closing his laptop.

"Really, tin man? You care to take this outside?" Brad said, his smile distinctly predatory.

"I'd drop you before you could bend your first spoon."

"Try me."

"What the hell is going on? Who's this Brad guy" Ranma quietly asked his sister.

"Meet Bradford Morris, candidate number four. He's a basic preppie jerk. Sadly though, he's rather competent with Calash. His template allows him to move metal with his mind."

"Great, and since Dan's a cyborg—"

"Yeah, the prick waves that over Dan's head."

"What did you call me?" Brad said.

"You didn't hear me, Bradford? I called you a prick."

Brad's eyes narrowed.

"Oh? You don't like that, you egotistical fuck?"

Brad simply stared at the redhead.

"What's the matter Bradford?" Sarah said, staring him down.

Brad stepped forward.

"If you mess with my sister, you mess with me," Ranma stated, standing up.

"How wonderfully clichéd," Allison interrupted. "But yes, if you try to touch any of us, we'll drop you like a sack of dirt."

"Eloquent as always, my Terson, but right now my feud is with this newbie," Brad said, looking Ranma over. "Tell me, do you even have a template? Or are you waiting for sis to make you one?"

Ranma looked at Brad, paused for a second, then began to snicker. Oh yes, he had a template, not that he wanted the damn thing.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

Ranma looked over at the jerk. None of the others seemed to be taking him that seriously. "You wouldn't understand it," Ranma said simply.

"Oh, so you think I'm slow," Brad replied, narrowing his eyes.

Sarah had stepped back and was watching impassively. She knew that Brad was testing the waters, trying to back her brother into a corner to see how he reacted.

"Well, I don't know you, but you do seem to be bothering Julie."

"So now you're telling me what to do?" Brad asked, his fingers twitching slightly.

"Shut up, Bradford," Dan said, his gaze leveled at the other teen. "Back off from Ranma. He isn't a part of this."

"You're gonna let them fight your battles for you?" Brad said, turning to Ranma. "I guess you're not man enough to take care of yourself."

"Coming from a stalker, those words are pretty damn hollow," Allison observed.

"Come on, Ranma, are you going to hide behind these slackers and degenerates?"

"Is this a challenge?" Ranma asked, trying to see where this was going.

Brad paused for a split second as he shifted gears. Why not? He would be able to get a good bearing on this newbie. "Yes it is, if you're up to it."

Ranma's response was automatic. "I accept."

"Good. In ten minutes, out back," Brad said, recalling the status of those fields.

"Until when?"

"Yield or knockout," Brad said, before turning and walking down the hall.

"So what template does Brad have?" Ranma asked, watching Sarah shake her head while Dan slapped his hand to his forehead.

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"So this goober just has powers over metal. Bending spoons, making stuff fly and such," Ranma said as they walked out into the field. His relatives had spent the time briefing him on Brad's template and method of fighting. "I can see why you guys are reluctant to fight him."

"Hey! He might, might, be able to stop a bullet. But not a whole group of them," Sarah said, putting her hand to her side.

"Although having metal bones won't help," Allison said, chuckling.

Dan sighed, then looked at Ranma. "Remember, he's limited by how much he can alter the kinetic energy of an object, and he can only influence something if it's metal. According to Julie, it's because of how metallic bonds have a 'sea of electrons' or some such nonsense."

"Right. The faster it moves, the harder it would be for him to deflect," Ranma proposed.

"We think he can control around about a half a dozen items simultaneously," Allison said.

"And you don't want to go into template?" Dan asked.

"No," Ranma said flatly.

"Oh, that's just what you want," Allison said to her boyfriend. "A little angel bouncing around in a skimpy skirt."

"Actually, I think that's what you want," Sarah mumbled.

"I don't know why you guys are so worried about this bully," Ranma said.

"He tries to be a bully. Bradford's just an arrogant asshole. He can't really do anything against us without us killing him, but neither can we punish him for being a prick," Dan shrugged.

"Then why'd he want to fight me?" Ranma asked.

"You're the new kid. You insulted him by dismissal. And you forced him into it," the blonde said.

"Well, that's normal. Most of my fights are due to piddling crap like this," Ranma said.

"Like the time someone swore revenge on you because of a pastry?" the redhead observed.

"It was several flavored pieces of bread, Sarah," Ranma said as if that made some difference.

"Well, if it isn't the Clue Crew? Are you going to drive around solving mysteries in your van?" Brad said while smirking.

"Clue Crew? The Fuck? Isn't that from Jeopardy?" Sarah asked.

"Silence, insolent wench!" Brad said.

"Bradford, what the hell's going on? This is lame, even for you," Dan said.

Brad ignored the comment and looked at Ranma. "You'd better keep your friends out of this."

"Don't worry," Ranma said, narrowing his eyes.

"Then let's begin," Brad said as he activated his template. Ranma watched as Brad's clothing changed to a black jumpsuit with a dark brown harness. Clipped onto the harness were numerous gleaming pieces of metal, ranging from long pointed stakes clipped to shoulder straps to a number of shot-filled pouches clipped to his waist belt.

The air around Brad took on a strange shimmer. He smiled as a pair of steel stakes slipped out of their clips and floated in front of him. Ranma watched as the stakes rotated to face him. Then as if propelled by invisible engines, the two sharpened lengths of metal charged at him.

Ranma dodged low and to the left only to see them adjust their trajectory. Keeping on the move, Ranma watched the projectiles grow nearer. He also watched Brad's expression. The teen tried to keep his face neutral, but each time he maneuvered the projectiles his face took on a slight strain that seemed to increase with the distance they got from him.

Maneuvering forward, Ranma watched as the stakes closed in. Waiting until they were a foot from his head, he then grabbed the two stakes. Twisting them away from his head, the lengths of metal felt slightly warm and rather prickly. The two lengths squirmed in his hands like angry weasels as Ranma tried to hold them back. Glancing over at his opponent, Ranma saw that Brad's face was strained but amused.

The two stakes in Ranma's hands became lifeless, turning back into inert metal. Acting on instinct and training, Ranma tossed the two stakes into the ground while ducking down and forward. He felt another shard of metal fly past him. Ranma looked up to see it slow down as it was about to reverse direction.

The martial artist cupped his hands, and without bothering to shout the name of his attack, shot out a small ki bolt. The blast of ki launched and intersected with the projectile as it approached Ranma. It hit the bit of metal without any visible effect in the first half second.

So the punk finally decided to activate his template, Brad thought as the strange blast was released. Instinctively, he increased his mental hold on the weapon to stabilize it when the blast impacted with it. This proved to be a mistake. A piercing pain flashed into Brad's mind. Gritting his teeth, he severed his hold on the stake, instantly silencing the pain.

Brad had only felt a sensation like this once before; when he had first been testing out his template, Brad had foolishly flown a fork right into an electrical socket. The same bonding properties that lent metal to his brand of Calash-enabled telekinetic control allowed for the metal to absorb and carry various types of energy, be it thermal, electric, or magnetic. Unfortunately, the connection Brad had to his weapons was not one-way. He could maneuver metal through his will, but his will was also bound by the metal it was in.

Ranma knew none of this. All he knew was that blasting one of Brad's weapons caused him pain and forced him to let go of the weapon he controlled. Ranma charged forward. Brad responded by flinging a series of metal stakes at Ranma. Dodging them, Ranma was surprised when they did not correct their course, instead falling down to the ground. Closing in on Brad, Ranma released a pair of ki blasts aimed at the center of the teen's chest.

Brad concentrated on the metal strips in his harness, and jumped back while opening one of the pouches on his waist. Ranma looked to see Brad make an impossible dodge. His body seeming to defy gravity. Then Ranma noticed how the teen's body seemed to be held up by the harness.

Ranma closed in, crossing in front of Brad. Only a few yards away he fired another Mokou Takabisha at the gel-haired teen. Brad tossed the handful of shot. He clenched his teeth; at this range he had only one chance, and it was going to hurt. A lot. Using his full abilities, Brad maneuvered the small metallic spheres into a rough cup shape and blocked the blast.

The ki collided with the collection of telekinetically-controlled projectiles. The reaction was spectacular. In a flash of mostly infrared light, Ranma's energy hit Brad's. Brad headache grew into new and amazing proportions with the reaction. The spheres exploded outward.

The metal was traveling slow enough that Ranma was able to dodge or deflect the vast majority of the ones that came towards him. The worst was one that hit just above his right wrist. But right now he was able to fight, although his right hand might be stiffer.

Brad was in a different shape. His head felt like it contained a small smelting plant, and his body nearly avoided serious injury. One of the balls would have taken his left eye, had he not deflected it to cut his ear instead.

"Oh, fuck this," Brad said as he pulled himself up. With one hand he held his forehead in the other he pulled out a stake. His headache was already subsiding. He was scowling in barely-controlled rage.

Ranma readied himself. His opponent was weakened. A few more good hits and Brad should go down, provided that he did not get hit by a metal spike before that happened. Wincing slightly at the pain in his wrist, Ranma charged at Brad while readying another ki blast.

Brad then dropped the stake and put his hands at his sides. He smirked slightly; there was another reason he chose this place.

The salvage team from Winston Industrial Container was still processing the remains of the mech. It was then that they noticed some of the shards of broken mech armor starting to move.

Brad saw Ranma move in and pulled himself back while flinging a chunk of armor the size of a refrigerator door in between him and Ranma.

The martial artist vaulted over the slab of metal while firing a shot at Brad, who was now far enough away to dodge using his harness. As Ranma landed, he saw three other, slightly smaller, slabs of metal move in towards him.

Brad was trying to box him in. Ranma ran over to the opening between the two pieces to his left. Naturally, Brad rotated the slabs so that one faced Ranma and moved them in, hoping to contain the martial artist.

Brad frowned slightly as Ranma jumped onto the large chunk of metal and used it to springboard up to his position. Brad's face returned to its focused state as he flung a few dozen ball bearings at Ranma. Normally, it was more than he could control, but the identical dimensions and similar vectors simplified things.

The martial artist charged his hands with a small bit of ki and deflected the balls as they came at him. The ki was small, but it provided enough feedback to force Brad to pull out.

As Ranma reached the apex of his leap, he lobbed a ki blast at Brad who flung an armor slab in between himself and the bolt of energy. Brad removed his control just before it hit. The slab fell a few inches but managed to block the blow before falling to the ground.

At the same time, Brad launched another plate of metal at his opponent. Ranma grabbed onto it and used it to propel himself towards Brad, who launched a pair of stakes. Ranma blocked Brad's attack and fired a ki blast, this time aiming at Brad's harness.

The energy impacted and created a very strong feedback. The telekinetic did not have time to make a choice. He felt a lance of pain travel through his brain while his harness seemed to burn on his body.

Reflexively, he shut off all his powers. The floating metallic debris crashed to the ground, as did Brad.

As Ranma made his landing, he watched Brad rekindle his powers just enough to retard his fall. Unlike Ranma, Brad's left foot hit the ground badly, causing him to fall to the side.

Ranma approached quickly, but cautiously. His opponent did not seem to be terribly hurt and might have a few more tricks.

Brad pulled himself up. Grinding his teeth, he pulled out a quartet of stakes and held two in each hand. As he watched at Ranma close in, he made his decision.

"Ah, fuck it," Brad said as he dropped the stakes. "I yield," Brad said after sitting down on the grass.

"What?" Ranma demanded as he watched his opponent. "You can still fight."

"Maybe," Brad remarked as he dropped out of template. "I quit."

"Fine." Ranma said, very annoyed. "I accept," he said while thinking, You damn pansy.

"Good for you."

Ranma looked down at Brad, anger welling up within him. "If you were just going to quit, why the hell did you challenge me in the first place?"

"I thought I could beat you. How was I to know some newbie had developed a mental feedback whatever-the-hell-that-was," Brad said simply.

"You insufferable ass!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Brad admitted.

"Okay then," Ranma said as he walked back to Sarah and the others.

"Well, that was pointless," Dan observed.

"Want to go back to class?" Allison asked.

"You gonna be okay, Bradford?" Sarah asked. She did not really care, but would feel somewhat guilty if he died.

"I'm fine. You did good, kid. I'd like to see what you're capable of with a real template," Brad said, as he sat on the ground.

"Whatever," Ranma said as he followed his friends back to class.

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"Do you really need me to go into template?" Ranma asked. When they got back home from school, they found a message from Gos on the answering machine. It was a short drive to Reno's apartment, where Gos and Erika were staying. Dan had driven him over while Allison and Sarah had stayed home. Sarah's father, Jack, was home, and she wanted to talk to the sheriff about something. Allison wanted to take a nap.

"Yes," the pathetic teen who had to build a girlfriend replied. "I want a scan of the most recent version of the template. I should have scanned you when you were here yesterday."

"Fine," Ranma sighed. He first shifted into girl-form. She then tried to activate her template. Instead, she found herself being redirected slightly. She found herself bringing her hands over her heart. Then as she tapped her Rose Ring she heard herself whisper, "Angelic Rose," then shout, "Make-Up!"

She shuddered as a glowing red whirlwind engulfed her. It then shifted in color becoming a sparking pink. Everything she was wearing was torn apart and turned into small pink roses and white feathers. The roses formed into pink high heeled boots and her glittery pink trimmed and pink bowed fuku. The feathers formed into her full-sized white angel wings and her delicate silver bracers, engraved in pink vines and roses.

The pink light then came down onto her head and hands, still clasped over her chest. It infused itself in her hair and skin. It unbound her hair, which was then styled into a feathered wavy body with pink, glittery highlights. Part was pulled back with a pink bow in a loose, high ponytail, while the rest flowed freely. The glittery light then placed highly feminine pink and glittery makeup.

It then created her jewelry. Her earrings, dangling gold roses, seemed to grow from simple pierced studs. A golden, pink-jeweled tiara then formed into place. Finally, her choker, with its egg-shaped piece of glass containing a perfectly frozen rose, appeared around her neck.

Ranma blinked, her eyelids feeling the weight of her very faded, very glittery pink eyeshadow. She looked at her delicate looking hands with their manicured, sparkling pink nails. Four words then came out of her coral-pink lips. "What the fucking hell?"

Dan smirked.

"That was a transformation sequence," Gos said, blinking.

"Gee, you think?" Ranma replied harshly as her wings folded back.

"What happened?" Erika said as she entered the living room from the guest bedroom.

"Fucking template!" Ranma muttered as she looked at her miniskirt.

"Looks like its back to glitter and pink," Dan observed.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"Maybe the organic tech decided that you need to be more magical girly," Dan suggested.

"Not likely," Gos said as he set up his I/O sphere and began to take readings. "Adding an activation phrase and a transformation sequence has no benefit. No. I'd guess that our hacker bitch did this to torment you."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Erika stated.

"Whoever she is, she will pay," Ranma stated as she balled her fists, her manicured nails digging into her palms.

Dan snickered. He found the image of such a femininely-dressed girl vowing vengeance amusing.

"Watch it," Ranma said, her eyes glowing a slight pink.

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Rebecca smiled when she heard the phone ring. It was almost a quarter of eight. "Impeccable timing. A very good sign," she noted to herself, picking the phone up on the third ring.

"You did as requested," she observed as if stating an obvious truth. Oh yes, space is mostly empty and rather big.

She smiled at the response.

"Nope. How did things go?" Rebecca asked, getting the reason she sent the caller out.

"Come back as soon as you can. We're entering the next phase," she then added, her tone gaining a slight edge.

"Well, strong words. That's not what you first thought of me, and I have never lied to you. You don't get lost. You no longer turn into a pig. And you will have your revenge against Ranma," she replied, maintaining her slight smile.

Rebecca laughed at the caller's next statement. "So soon? That was never part of the bargain. You'll have your revenge, but only when I'm ready. Besides, you chose to enter my house. You chose to listen to me. You chose to stay. You gave no objection to the treatments nor the operations. If you walk away, you'll lose everything I've given you."

What came out of the speaker made her grin deepen. "Looks like the slowest horse crossed the finish line after all. See you soon."

"We shall see about that," Rebecca replied to the caller's final statement before hanging up the phone.

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Ranma opened her eyes to see a pink sky. She blinked with puzzlement as she saw a bright pink cloud move slowly over a darker pink background. Groaning, she pulled the rose-tinted sunglasses off of her face. Leaning up, she found herself on a reclining piece of outdoor furniture. She then noticed that she was wearing a two-piece bathing suit. It was almost a bikini, and it was white with pink roses. She sighed as she looked at the Rose Ring still on her finger. Her hair simply fell behind her shoulders. Her curse forced her to use female swimwear. It was something she did not like, but had to accept.

Further investigation revealed that she was in front of an in-ground pool and not alone. To her left, she could see Allison in a silver bikini, and to her right was Sarah in an orange one-piece with red trim. Next to the blonde, a female Dan was asleep. She was wearing a dark violet bikini of the same style as her girlfriend's. Ranma shook her head at this.

"Look who's up," Erika said. Ranma turned her head to see her standing behind her chair.

"Where are we?" Ranma asked, standing up. She squinted her eyes, annoyed at the particularly bright sunlight, but unwilling to put those sunglasses back on.

"We decided to take a break. So we drove over to Allison's parent's house," Sarah said, leaning up.

"Yeah. We got a pool last year," Allison said, her eyes closed.

"Oh yeah," Ranma said, remembering it. She had planned on swimming and had used the ring to create a swimsuit. None of Allison's would fit her and Sarah had only brought one. However, she decided to take a nap. Walking over to the edge, she looked at the water. Crystal blue, it looked extremely inviting. Kneeling down, she placed her glasses on the edge and prepared herself to jump in.

She smiled slightly as she went airborne. She barely had time to register shock as the water changed color. She cringed as she hit the glittering pink liquid. She tried swimming to the surface, but was soon disoriented by the swirling, sparkling fluid. Soon she found herself floating with no sense of orientation. The only thing she could see was the radiant semi-clear pink. She had no bearings at all. There was no up, no down, no ground, no walls, just her and the pinkness.

It itched her skin and irritated her eyes. She was out of air. Her body, starved for oxygen, rebelled. Her mouth opened and she inhaled the liquid. She gagged at the taste. It was minty, sweet, and syrupy. It also seemed to writhe slightly. Her lungs had filled with the stuff, but she had yet to drown.

She took another breath, wincing as the pink juice flowed into her sinuses. It was somehow oxygenated. She remembered there was a movie where deep-sea divers used a liquid to breathe with. The itching on her skin suddenly increased. The liquid began to glow becoming an iridescent pink. It felt like the liquid was oozing through her pores. She felt her swimsuit dissolve away.

With a distant pain, it began to consume the girl, replacing her with itself. She looked down to see her skin pulsating and screamed. The pink then rushed down her throat. Reflexively, she swallowed, consuming it as it consumed her.

Unable to control herself, she continued drinking the vile soup, even as it rushed into her orifices absorbing her. She saw that her hair had turned glittery and pink and had grown. To what length she could not tell, for it seemed to merge with the liquid that surrounded her. She shuddered as great glowing pink wings formed. The feathers seemed to simultaneously pour from her body and form out of the liquid. Her skin was now the same glowing, sparkling color.

She gave a moment's thought to what was under that skin. Would she have pink blood? Organs that were recognizable? Anything organic at all? Or would it just be a sloshing mass of pink contained by a pink bag? She closed her eyes, shedding a single tear of a material indistinguishable to from that of the liquid sounding her. Her eyes had just changed, and she knew what was next.

The woman gave one last wrenching gulp. After swallowing the liquid, her pink lips gave a contented smile. Her eyes then fluttered open. Sparkling, swirling pink corneas looked out into the abyss.

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Ranma flipped up, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling. Breathing deeply, and quite relieved that it was just air, she looked at her hands. It was too dark to be sure. Blinking hard, she pulled her pigtail so that she could look at it. In the dim light it looked dark enough. She then jumped down to the floor. She shook her head while she walked out of the room and to the bathroom. She could have turned on the lights in her room and looked into Sarah's mirror, but that might have woken her sister up.

In the bathroom, she forced her eyes to stay open as she turned on the lights. She was rewarded with the familiar image of a blue-eyed redhead. She gave a sigh of relief as she looked over her reflection. She did not like her girl form, but would rather it not be turned into that pink — thing.

Staring at herself, she tried to remember the dream. She got fragments. This was more than she normally could remember. Usually she was left with the mental equivalent of a horrid taste on her mouth, a decidedly unpleasant mental taint.

She heard someone enter the hallway. Ranma then saw her sister's reflection in the mirror as Sarah entered the small room. "Bad dream?" Sarah asked, trying to mask the concern in her voice. They were getting more frequent, and even Ranma was willing to admit that there might be a problem.

Ranma nodded slowly as she looked at her sister. The two redheads were close in appearance, although it was obvious that Sarah had Irish blood in her. Sarah's hair was a tinge lighter than Ranma's almost scarlet hair. Sarah was also a bit taller, although it was hard to tell now because Ranma was leaning on the sink and Sarah was leaning on the doorframe.

Despite being a nearly year older than Sarah, Ranma's face was that of an Asian girl; it looked younger than Sarah's, which was a bit more mature-looking. Despite being more muscularly-developed than Sarah, Ranma's frame still seemed smaller somehow. Ranma shook her head. No, they were the same like that. She was just being paranoid.

"You okay?" Sarah asked.

"I can't take this damn template much longer," Ranma admitted as she checked over her body for changes again. Everything still looked the same.

"Don't worry; we have some suspects now. We'll find that bitch. Hell, Gos is working on your template too. He said that he has some interesting findings."

"Maybe," Ranma admitted as she continued to look at her reflection. Eventually she pulled away from the mirror and followed her sister back to their room.

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Gos looked at his laptop with a mix of fear and self-loathing. Now, that brought him back. It was not enough that he made that template. No, he had to keep it around. Pride, sick pride. He was jealous of Ranma, and in his darkened den he had a way to live his dreams of revenge. It would be easy to hit Ranma where it hurt.

He thought he had left that all behind. He had a girlfriend now. He'd escaped Nerima. He was making reparations. But the past refused to stay where it should. He had found it while going over the scans he had of Ranma's template.

There was only a slim chance of it happening, and without the Organic Tech it would have been impossible, but now the door was open. Gos had hoped it would not happen, but was that even really an option?

Looking over, he could see Erika watching her movie. It was the first time she had watched it in human form, and Gos could see her eyes misting. It really was a sad story. Driven slowly but surely insane by conflicting orders and directives, the character was someone that Erika could empathize with. Gos smiled just a little bit as he observed his girlfriend watch HAL 9000's journey into madness.

He was alone with his discovery. After the bonding with Erika, this was another thing that he thought was behind him. While Erika could easily see what was on his screen, she could not see what he was really working on. The laptop he was working on was no more tangible than he was. It was simply a construct he used instead of the direct machine interface he now possessed. That is, if one could call a being like Erika a mere machine.

The irony was amazing. Gos had stolen the life's work of the leading researchers in AI to create Erika, and then someone else had stolen Erika's Organic Tech research and his temp codes to make Ranma's template, and now….

Now Gos had no idea what was going to happen. There were too many factors. He could see the changes beginning in Ranma, and in theory he should be able to derive where they would lead. Gos might not get the exact details right, but he should have a fairly good idea of the order and the shape of the events.

Unfortunately, the developments in Ranma's template seemed to be too erratic to predict. No, this did not look good. Gos scrolled his notes, hoping to find an error in his train of thought. Strange data headings stuck out as he reread his rants, diagrams, hypothesis and sketches.

"Subconscious Linkage, ANX 1.34 subclass 12, see figs 5a, 34, 23" headed a section diagramming and specifying Ranma's accoutrements. Most of the data seemed to be attached to the workings of that compact of hers. Gos was worriedly trying to figure out how that device managed to be created. It seemed to prove the versatility of Organic Tech, but there were still questions as to the stability of the system.

"Punctuated Allocation Shift, 17 instances in 2 trials, inconclusive" fronted a section containing two three-dimensional graphical plots, followed by a paragraph of dense text. The pale hologram sighed at this; there was simply not enough data to work with.

Gos gave a twisted smile at the "Cascading Failure in Modification Algorithms Probability: Minimal," title heading. At least he could confidently tell Ranma that his template almost definitely would not kill him. The numbers showed that a critical error in those sections will not result in termination of the host form. Gos would have preferred to have more information, but at least in this case the calculations seemed straightforward enough. That should be reasonably good news.

The next section was not. Entitled "Security Countermeasures of Template R Alpha Unlicensed Modification Set," it described the various systems Ranma's template had to thwart unauthorized access. Gos did have to give the hacker bitch credit; she seemed to be as good in creating security systems as she was in disabling them.

The following sections Gos was not so sure of. It was not because he doubted the veracity of his paper. The re-read he gave the document seemed to confirm its accuracy. The question came in what these conclusions meant. Gos wondered if Ranma and his friends really needed to know this information.

Named "Projected Trends in the Development of G Section," it appeared harmless enough. That was until one realized that, the data this section used was known only by two people, Gos and the hacker bitch. Gos knew that she was watching her little test subject. She would be tracking the changes same as him.

The section ended with a log, starting with Day Zero. Most of the entries were blank and the rest simply contained a strange shorthand referring to earlier passages of the section. The last entry was simply labeled "Projected to Emerge", followed by two very similar images.

Gos sighed as he read those last paragraphs. Oh, that template certainly won't kill the host body. Whether or not the host would still be Ranma in the strictest definition of the word was the question. The Improvement Modules were simply doing their job. They were optimizing systems. Finding ways to make the best template-host synchronization.

Gos sighed again, although he did not currently have any lungs. It was his fault. The mad dreams of revenge, humiliation, and power. When the truth came out, would he get the blame, the shame? He had been forgiven for the template, but that was before the others saw the changes. Much like fertilizer, the Organic Tech was needed for the seeds to sprout and grow, but the seeds were of his design. The hacker bitch was simply the gardener.

With despondent clarity, Gos copied the document, encrypted it, and set to work at editing the original, giving one last look at the log before he deleted it. After all, there was a chance that the Organic Tech would interfere and change things, deviate from the projected path. Even to Gos, it was a weak excuse.

To be continued.

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Author's notes: Now, I'm not up to speed on Wyoming law, but in the county I live in, Motor Vehicle does send replacement licenses through the mail. When you change your residency, you give them your old out-of-state license, and they print out a temporary one, then a few weeks later they mail you the permanent one. Yeah, it's goony, but that's how they do it. Now, I know some counties, and even whole states, do not do this, in that you have to go to their offices to pick up your permanent, but those are usually in the more populated areas. Sweetwater County, Wyoming, is rather sparsely populated, even by Wyoming standards.

Also thanks to my pre-readers Joe Fenton, Jerry Starfire, Black Dragon, Wray, and Jakub. These guys have been an immense help in getting this chapter out.


	8. Thorne of the Rose

Generation Lost

Josh Temple

To clear up some of the confusion, Ranma's not mine, neither are the various cameos, template ideas, or character references. However the concept for Calash, templates, imprinting and such is mine.

It's been a while eh?

I recommend at least rereading ch7 to get yourself familiar with the characters and story, again.

Chapter 8 Thorne of the Rose

"President Clark has signed a decree today declaring martial law."

Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

"Uh... are you okay, Ran-man?" Dan asked his half cousin.

"Yes," Ranma said as he slowly, deliberately ate his toast.

"I don't think you are," Allison noted. "You're all twitchy and staring off into space."

"Dan looks like this every day and you don't notice," Sarah grumbled.

"Exactly," the psychotic blonde pointed. "This is new for Ranma!"

"Come to think of it, right after he woke up he turned back into a guy. Why'd you do that bro?" Sarah asked.

"It wasn't me that did that! I had no idea that the wand had a vibrate setting! It made me use it! I'm not a magic princess!" Ranma shouted, mostly at his toast.

The others stayed silent for a few seconds.

"So, how's your truck doing?" Allison asked her boyfriend.

Ranma finished his breakfast in silence. He then got up and left the room.

"Uh... I'll make sure he's okay," Sarah said as she got up.

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"Ranma, you okay?" Sarah asked as she knocked on the door to the room she shared with her brother.

"Gimmie a moment!" Ranma cried from inside the bedroom, in her girl-mode's voice.

Sarah paused remembering Ranma's outburst from earlier in the morning "Uh... okay..." The younger redhead waited outside the door for a few seconds.

"This isn't gonna work. Sis! Come in here! Maybe you can help," Ranma shouted

"I don't want to interrupt your special time... Sis."

"It's not _like_ that!" Ranma screamed in frustration.

"Okay, okay." Sarah relented. "But you better be decent." She opened the door and froze. She was immediately able to determine what Ranma's problem was.

Ranma was wearing a glittery light amethyst skirt that ended just above her knees, purple high heels, thin lacy white knee-socks in a pink rose pattern, and a frilly, ruffled, white blouse with pink rose embroidery. In the small of her back and on her chest were big light green bows covered in little yellow roses.

The silver ring on her finger with the tiny scrimshawed rose was normal but the dangling gold rose earrings, and gold chain necklace with a small teardrop-shaped crystal pendant containing a tiny pink rose were a bit much. Though they paled before the bright emerald green, semi-circular hair comb that was placed from the backside of her ears to the top of her head.

Though in Sarah's opinion the worst part was Ranma's hair. That it was curled and fell to somewhere between her hips and knees did not seem that bad. That it was sparkling and highlighted in pink made it nightmarish.

"What happened to you? We've gotta get you cleaned up," Sarah said after regaining her voice. She almost wished she had walked into a naked Ranma.

"What do you think I've been trying to do? Stupid template! It dressed me like this you know?"

"Really," Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Well this isn't that strange. You normally wear something rose themed and girly when you first go into girl-form, now."

Ranma glared at her sister.

"What? I mean it's strange that you turned yourself into a girl..."

"I didn't! I was just getting ready for school when I accidentally shifted. And it dressed me like this!"

"Well... I suppose what you're wearing is a school uniform... of some type... Wait, accidentally shifted. How the heck do you accidentally turn yourself into a girl?"

Ranma looked down at her skirt and tugged at the purple fabric. "It's sensitive. Stupid thing seems to want to make me a girl whenever it gets the chance."

"Uncontrolled shifting... that's not good not at all. Things are getting worse."

"Yeah," Ranma sighed.

"The dreams... this..." Sarah leaned onto the door way.

"Any luck with that list of suspects?" Ranma asked, hope crossing her overly made up face.

"Sorry Bro, even that creepy old girlfriend of Allison's, Rebecca, seems clean."

"Damn..." Ranma inhaled. "I can't go on like this. I mean it's not even my own body anymore. I'm not in control. I'm just someone else's dress-up doll and experiment."

"So... what are you gonna do? We don't know who's doing this."

"We're gonna do something," Ranma said sternly. Her serious expression clashing with her clothing and hair.

Sarah nodded. "Maybe we can somehow jam the hacker's signals into you."

"That's a start," Ranma allowed. "Call Gos, I wouldn't be surprised if he's not holding something back. This is all his code that's in me after all."

"I'll call them over," Sarah said as she walked into her room to get her phone.

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The holographic projection that represented Gos looked around the room nervously as his solid girlfriend carried a laptop. "Calm down Dear, I'm sure Ranma just wants to talk," the blue-haired artificial intelligence reassured.

"I guess so... it's just sudden," Gos said.

"There you two are!" Ranma shouted as she came down the stairs to see them.

"Uh... nice skirt," Erika said, before cracking a small smile.

Gos' face remained neutral. Ranma being dressed like that could not be a good sign.

"We need to talk, all three of us," the redhead stated, her voice straining to stay even.

"About your template, I presume," Gos stated.

"Yes, something has to be done. This is unacceptable," Ranma said as she pulled at one of her bows. Her hand twitched, as if she was deciding whether or not she should try cutting the thing off. Ripping and pulling certainly did not work.

"Yeah that looks as bad as your pink Senshi seifuku," Erika agreed.

Ranma slumped down into a living room chair and motioned for her two guests to sit down. "Right now I don't want this damn hacker bitch messing with my mind. Get me a way to do that."

Gos and Erika exchanged a brief glance. "Your... mind. What's she doing to you?" Gos asked. He feared that his predictions about the template and its organic technology might be coming true.

"I have nightmares every night. One's where I'm being turned into a princess... her princess," Ranma clenched her fists.

Erika's face paled. "That's horrible. She's changing you... into what? I mean what can we do?" Erica asked. "She's the one who has the codes to get into your template. Gos made the template. It would take way too long for us to force our way in. And from the sound of it... you might not have that much time."

Gos sighed. He had to come clean. "Erika honey, switch with me."

Erika raised an eyebrow but shrugged. Her form shifted into that of Gos' and the hologram changed into an image of Erika.

"Okay," Gos said as he turned on his laptop. "This is only a theory of mine."

"What?" Ranma asked glaring at the pale teen.

"It's a guess at what she's up to. I mean with the organic tech she's put in you," Gos said as he pulled up a series of images. He then turned the laptop to face Ranma.

"Hey! That's me! You've been spying on me, yah perv!" Ranma shouted.

"Only to confirm something. You see..." Gos said as he pulled up a few diagrams that were connected to the image and highlighted a few portions of the image. "You're changing."

"Into what?" Ranma growled.

"My guess? A being that is the true merger of Calash template magic and it's human host. The organic technology is very adaptive."

"You guess?"

"Well... it's what I would do. If I had an a test-bed like you," Gos froze under the redhead's withering glare. "I mean, if I were a monster like this hacker-bitch."

"So I really am turning into a princess. Wonderful," Ranma sighed.

"Umm... I'd worry more about the risk of turning into her obedient little puppet than how you're dressed."

"You think she wants to control me?"

"Unless she's a complete moron she's not gonna let you develop such powers without a way to control you." Gos smiled unpleasantly. "Besides, didn't you say that she was messing with your mind?"

"Oh no... you're right. In all the dreams there's this wand... and it controls my... everything I do. It forces me to do... things, horrible things," Ranma shuddered. "Why didn't you tell me this?" the redhead demanded.

"I was still compiling my data. Besides it's just a theory. I had no idea you were having dreams like this," Gos defended.

"So now what? We have to act fast! I mean she's turning me into her doll, isn't she?"

"Yes, something has to be done," Gos agreed.

"If I'm changing, how is she still able to control me? I mean if my... code's been altering. How does she have total control?"

"It doesn't work quite that way. The changes are too slow for one. Look, the hacker is taking her time. She's gotta be pruning your changes everytime she checks on you. She's shaping you as she wants, and while she does that she's making sure her control will still work."

"So we have to remove her control," Ranma muttered. "And she needs it to go slowly. Hmmm."

"No. No Ranma that's a very bad idea!"

"It's worth a shot. If I force it to work faster I can take control, right?" Ranma proposed.

"No! It's madness!"

"What's going on in here?" Sarah said as she stuck her head into the room.

"Ranma's got some damn fool idea," Gos sighed.

"What? If the hacker bitch needs slow changes for her to keep her control on the template. What if I just take that away?" Ranma shrugged.

Sarah blinked. "That's... insane. You want to make your changes faster? The same stuff you've being fighting against since day one?"

"Wonderful job it's been doing so far," Ranma said pointing to her blouse.

"Technically speaking," Erika spoke up, "it's not that crazy. I mean, if the template changes enough that the hacker can no longer log in, that could lock her out. If Ranma's lucky, it might even register the hacker-bitch as a foreign intruder."

"See! It might not be insane," Ranma said.

"Of course she probably wouldn't be Ranma after this. I mean she'd be... her template... I guess," Erika concluded.

"Wait... but the template or me would be how I want it to be right?" Ranma asked.

"I have no idea," Gos said. "Maybe, maybe not."

"Thanks for being your ever so helpful self. Still, it's worth a shot then," Ranma nodded.

"Aren't you worried that this will turn you into a princess?" Sarah stated.

"Maybe, but if I'm the one in control. It might not be so bad. I mean there are worse things than being a princess."

"What if it just accelerates things and you turn into the hacker-bitch's puppet?" Sarah asked.

"Then you guys will have to take me down," Ranma stated.

Sarah groaned.

"It's not a bad idea," Dan added finally speaking up.

"Yeah, it'll force the issue to a head," Allison agreed.

"Look who thinks this is a good idea!" Sarah yelled.

"Agreement by insane slackers aside, maybe this isn't the stupidest thing Ranma could do," Gos allowed. "Ranma could become more powerful, and has a chance of getting free from the hacker."

"Why didn't you suggest this earlier then?" Ranma demanded.

"Let's see." Gos started ticking off on his fingers, "I didn't know the hacker was messing with your brain. I thought we might have been able to find her and get you free that way. Oh yeah, I didn't think you would want to become one with a template that turns you into a pink rose-themed angel-senshi, who's, apparently, also a princess."

"So it seemed like a long-shot that had no way of working, and you dismissed it?" Ranma surmised.

"When you put it that way. It kinda does seem up your alley," Gos admitted.

"Hmm... so one with my template. Ick. Well I'd be able to change things right? I'd have control?"

"You... might," Gos shrugged.

"You can assume you'd have more control than you do now," Erika guessed.

"Good enough! Let's do it!" Ranma said. She looked around the room. "Um... one of you guys does know how to do this, right?"

"I guess I can help. I did come up with the organic tech idea. But I never got to use it much," Erika said, thinking over what would have to be done.

"One last warning Ranma: you, merge, angel, rose, senshi, princess. Understand?" Gos stated.

"Like you have any idea what'll happen," Ranma replied as she leaned back in her chair.

"That's the whole point! None of us have any idea!"

"Screw it. If Bro thinks this will save him. Let him give it a shot," Sarah sighed.

"I'll make the popcorn. This'll be fun," Allison said as she scampered off to the kitchen.

"I'll set up the video camera," Dan said before going to his room

"Actually, recording this isn't a bad idea," Gos agreed.

"Okay, I'm gonna need an I/O sphere and... that's about it," Erika admitted.

"Plug it into your laptop?" Sarah asked after she brought one out.

Erika nodded as she looked over Ranma.

"Don't you want to use the real body?" Gos asked.

"And risk damaging our squishy vessel? Nope. What if something happened?"

"Given that you're just a projection..." Dan said as he setup a video camera.

"You guys are making a big production out of this." Ranma was getting a bit nervous.

"You _are_ thinking of making Calash history you know?" Sarah asked.

"Huh?"

"Full integration with your magic template is a huge step," Gos said as he checked the connection to the computer.

"Full? I just wanted to speed things up."

"And that's what it will do," Gos agreed.

"Okay Ranma," Erika said. "Now this is gonna feel a bit weird, but it's normal... ish."

"Wait!" Allison shouted as she ran into the room. "I almost didn't get a chance to salt it," the blonde said carrying a large bowl of popcorn.

Ranma shook her head. "Okay, do it."

"Not gonna say anything profound for the record books?" Dan asked after setting up another laptop and connecting it to a second I/O sphere.

"I just want control of my life, that's all," Ranma said.

"Good enough," Erika said as she activated the program she had spent the last couple minutes writing and ran it through the I/O sphere.

Immediately Ranma's world went pink and the only thing she could hear was Erika's voice. However, the redhead could still feel the chair she was sitting in.

"Okay, let's start this. I'll just begin telling you what to do," Erika started.

"Why did my vision blank out?" Ranma asked.

"Oh that... you're gonna want to be able to see what's going on inside you."

"Huh... but I thought I could only change certain little things. And that was with an I/O sphere."

"You are connected to an I/O sphere. And you're not changing anything. At least not yet."

"Oh-kay," Ranma said. "What do you want me to do."

"Nothing yet. Let me pull up the right status window," Erika said as a complicated flowchart appeared in Ranma's vision.

"What the heck is that?"

"That's you. Hmm... kinda strange for a human," Erika's voice explained. "Those green boxes are your mental functions, the pink stuff's your template, and those orange things are your physical parts. See, there's information that I can select on each one. Hmm... you've already started to integrate more than normal for a template user, look at how close they are to the pink stuff. This is good."

"It is?"

"Makes your job a bit easier. Now I'll need you to activate your template, and watch what happens."

Ranma nodded and concentrated. She did not notice her clothing shift as she was concentrating on the display. A tendril from the green blocks shot out to the pink template parts causing the pinkness to glow brightly. The template then lit up white lines that connected it to the rest of the diagram. The pinkness seemed to spread, augmenting various sections of the rest of the diagram.

"What the hell? Is this what happens to my mind everytime I activate my template?" Ranma asked, horror creeping into her voice.

"Yup. It's a pretty normal setup. Though it seems a bit closer to your host body. Good. This might actually not kill you," Erika happily noted.

Ranma groaned.

"Okay... now the next step's a doozy. You remember all those lines that started glowing when you activated?"

Ranma nodded.

"Good. I'm gonna need you to find them, one by one, and open the connection fully."

"What? How am I supposed to change that? I can't edit my template!"

"Not from the template side, I mean go into your mind and find it from that side. Once you open it from your side the organic tech will take care of it from the template side, and a good thing too. If you didn't have such adaptive code, opening fully like this would have a hundred percent chance of frying your brain."

"What's the percentage now?"

"You don't want to know."

"You're sure of this, right?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, sure I am," Erika's voice was cautious.

"How do I even find these mind things?"

"It's like your mental trigger to activate your template but more specific. Think of how you can activate your weapons or sensor systems."

"I normally do that by calling out a stupid phrase."

Erika sighed. "Let me pull up another screen then," Erika said as she put another diagnostic display in Ranma's vision. "This one will show you what mental triggers you're pulling and it's cross-indexed to the master display. It should help things."

"Let's get started then," Ranma said as she concentrated on finding the first trigger.

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"Why did Erika disappear?" Allison asked as she watched the show. It was rather boring. So far, all that had happened was Ranma closed her eyes, shifted into Senshi form, and started twitching her eyes.

"She doesn't want to waste her attention on maintaining the projection," Gos explained as he maintained careful watch over his girlfriend's and Ranma's status. "She's helping Ranma with some delicate work."

"Whatever they're doing, Ranma's power is increasing bit by bit." Dan said as he watched the passive sensor feed from his I/O sphere. "What is Ran-man doing?"

"What better way to merge than by fully opening the mental links?" Gos asked.

Sarah's eyes widened. "But there's a reason the connection between a template and a human mind is limited like that!"

"If Ranma's gonna merge there can't be a separation like this. He's gonna have to force it," Gos stated.

"I see," Sarah nodded. "Ranma opens it all the way on her side, the organic tech responds on its side, and the hacker can't do shit later."

"Yup, provided this all works and doesn't melt Ranma's brain. Okay... they're almost done opening the links. Now things get interesting."

"The hell? The power's spiking? Wait... no... it's getting more intense and pulsing?" Dan asked as he watched the sensor output.

"Umm... just look at her," Sarah stated.

"Pretty," Allison remarked on the pinkish white aura that had sprung up around Ranma.

"That's... new," Gos stammered.

The glow intensified and lost its pinkness, turning pure white. Soon Ranma's form was obstructed by the now opaque energy.

"No more pink, that's a good sign." Dan noted.

"Okay! Erika's broken her connection to him. She's done all she can!" Gos announced glad that she was safe, for now.

The envelope of energy shifted to a bright red. "That's not a good sign," Dan noted.

"Anything on sensors?"

"Oh, this piece of junk started giving overload errors just after the glowing stuff happened," Dan sourly noted.

Tendrils of green started working into the red aura. The energy then segmented into a series of petal-like shapes and was pulled into the green lines which then retreated into the person sitting in the chair.

High-heeled sandals with rose clips adorned the young woman's simply-pedicured feet. A very long green dress with white trim was fitted perfectly to her body. It was just slightly too informal and simple to be called a gown. It had rose accents to it and simple sleeves that stopped at her elbows. Spiraling up the length of it was a white vine with red roses that matched the trim. Its neckline was a U, trimmed in white lace, that showed just a hint of cleavage. Her fingernails were shaped with a slight overhang and were glossed.

She was wearing the same ring, pendant, and earrings as before, though this time they seemed to match the rest of her. She wore a pair of silver bracelets carved in runes that looked like smaller versions of her Senshi form's bracers. A gold tiara with an emerald stone was on her forehead and her face was lightly made up in a way that emphasized her considerable natural beauty.

The young woman's long crimson hair was pulled back with a large green bow at the base of her neck save for some bangs that were cut to frame her face. From the bow it tumbled down her back and seemed to go almost to her waist.

Most importantly there was not a trace of sparkles, glitter, or pink anywhere on her.

"Ranma?" Sarah asked.

"Ranma doesn't like that girly stuff, though she's not... too girly," Allison said.

"For a princess," Gos sighed.

Dan blinked and moved a hand into his trench coat.

"That's one fine a welcome you guys give," the redhead in the chair sighed. "Guys, come on it's me, Princess Rose? Err... Ranma. Sorry..."

"Wonderful, she's a princess now," Gos sighed.

"Hey! I was right, there are worse things than being a princess. And Dan, don't pull out a gun. You never did have a chance against me," the princess stated.

"Okay," Dan pouted.

"You think the hacker can get in?" Erika asked after restarting her projection.

"Are you in control?" Gos asked.

"Were you able to change the password?"

The magic princess laughed. "There is no password now."

"Hmm? So how is access granted?" Dan asked.

"You just ask permission and if the magic likes you she _might_ just give you permission."

"She?" Allison asked.

"Oh, I get it! Switch with me," Erika told her boyfriend. "Finally! Another magical computer tech life-form!" Erika said hugging the well-dressed redhead after she got a solid body.

"Well this is all sweet, but Ranma did call herself a princess," Sarah pointed out.

"That's because I am, sis," the sandal-wearing girl said as she hugged Erika. "You were right about that. Part of the merger was me accepting being a Magical Princess, but I'm still Ranma, just a princess too," Ranma assured.

"Princess of what?" Dan inquired.

"Roses of course. Probably some other stuff too," Ranma shrugged.

"And you're like Erika now, too?" Allison asked.

"Well I'm a combination of living magic and a human body so pretty close," Ranma said as she adjusted her pendant.

"Living magic?" Erika said after getting out of Ranma's lap. "You mean that my theories worked. I mean the magical stuff is an integral part of your body now, right?"

The Rose Princess nodded.

"What was it like?" Sarah asked.

Ranma thought for a bit before she smiled. "Sarah, remember back when I first got here and you taught me to tap into the energy surrounding me and that of my curse and use it to try to change?"

"Uh, yeah?" Sarah hesitantly asked.

"Well, this is like if the entire local magic grid went right into my mind."

"I guess we can call this a win," Gos said slowly.

"You're so right," Ranma said as she stood up.

"Is this the dress from your nightmares that you've muttered about?" Dan asked. "Because this looks really good on you."

Ranma looked down at her almost-a-gown and started laughing. "No... that thing was horribly stuffy and tacky. It really was a nightmare. I picked this one. Oh and you're very lucky you complimented my dress. Otherwise you'd be wearing my old gown."

"With a fashion sense like this, I wonder if she's really a princess. I thought they had really good taste," Allison remarked.

"Are you insulting my gown?" Ranma glared. She walked over to the blonde and reached out, tapping a finger on the girl's forehead, enveloping Allison in a white light. When it died down, Allison was in the gown from Ranma's nightmares. It was puffy, formal, and glittery. Even Allison's hair had been mangled and formed into the bun that accompanied _that_ dress.

"What did you do to me?" Allison screamed.

"This," Princess Rose said, pointing with her hand. "Is the kind of nightmare that I've had to deal with. This was the magic princess that the hacker-girl wanted."

"Ouch... that is bad," Dan nodded.

"Sorry Ranma." Sarah then turned to Allison. "Hah! Serves you right for those uniform stunts you've pulled on me."

"You think I should give her the wand that goes with it?" Ranma asked her sister.

"No! That's a bit much there, Ranma. She would probably enjoy that part any way," Sarah disagreed.

"I'm going to change," Allison sighed. "And fix my hair. Well played, Princess. I see we'll have some fun together." The blonde laughed manically before going upstairs.

"The wand! Use the wand! Please give her the wand? Dan pleaded after remembering what Ranma said at breakfast.

"You sure about that?" Sarah asked. "She's just as likely to use it on you."

Dan's face paled and his eyes widened in horror.

"I see Allison hasn't broken Diana in fully, has she?" Sarah teased.

"Do I even want to know what this wand does?" Gos asked.

"No, you really don't." Ranma sighed. "I need a practical wand."

"So how's being a Princess... living magic... thing?" Dan asked. "Sure you look spiffy, but what's going on under the hood."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "It's a good thing I know you're just a clueless young man and didn't actually suggest I disrobe."

"Fancy-talk," Dan teased.

"I am a magic princess now, you know," Ranma narrowed her eyes.

"Calm down. I think we're all curious as to what you can do. Aside from tormenting insane blondes," Gos stated.

"I guess I can show you some of my stuff," Ranma said as she sat back down, careful to smooth out her gown as she did so. She closed her eyes and a series of white and red lines swirled in her lap, almost immediately they coalesced into a thin box shape.

"Wow," Sarah said as she looked at the glossy white laptop that formed. In the center of the top was an embossed red rose logo.

"It looks like a Mac," Dan sighed.

"No, it doesn't!" Ranma cried. "See it's much better," the redhead said as she opened the laptop. Inside the white with red for accent and lettering theme continued.

"Yeah, it's much cooler looking than any Apple," Gos agreed.

As soon as Ranma had opened the laptop its screen had activated and it started showing rotating displays of Ranma's princess mode.

"Very pretty," Erika nodded. "Does it actually compute things? Or is it just a display and input device that connects to your internal systems?"

"Its default is just a peripheral device. I mean I don't have a CD player or a printer in me, but with this I do. Though at a range I suppose it could compute on its own."

"Did you just say 'default is a peripheral device'?" Dan asked. "That's kinda strange for you to say."

"Magic princess, remember?" Ranma sighed. "We've been over this."

"Yeah, I bet you've got a thesaurus and dictionary built right into you," Dan said.

"Interesting." Erika said as she examined the laptop. "Can other people operate it?"

"Of course. I've got keyed into it accounts for all of you guys so you can use it if I let you. Of course your accounts are limited in what you can do and what you can see," Ranma apologized.

"I presume you use some sensors and biometrics to grant access?"

"Yes the built in I/O sphere is most handy in that regard. These things have great sensor capacity, shame they're not used more."

"Cool so we can use your lappy sometimes? Nice." Dan added.

"To be fair they're hard to acquire and only a handful of people can even make them," Erika said. "Wait..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt computer-girl chit-chat, but You _made_ an I/O sphere?" Sarah asked, shaking her head.

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard. I mean I just went into the one that I was connected to and acquired it's blueprints and Calash code. Then it was a simple mater of adding it to my laptop's design. Of course there's also one inside of me."

"Wow... that's another revolution to Calash magic you've just done," Sarah said.

"You mean my laptop's even more special?" Ranma gleefully asked. She blinked. "Nuts, dang princessness."

"Ranma herself is already enough of a revolution in magic as we know it," Gos noted.

"Herself? Ran-man is that true?" Dan asked.

"Gos is right. I'm a magic princess. That means accepting being female. It's part of the price I pay for being like this," Ranma sighed.

"You're taking all of this very calmly," Sarah asked as she sat down next to her... sister.

"I've had a lot of time to think about it," Ranma shrugged as she started typing on her laptop.

Erika raised an eyebrow until she realized that she was using it to talk to her via text on the screen while she talked to her sister. "You do realize that you don't have to type, right? You can just think and the words will show up," Erika smiled.

"Yeah but this helps me practice typing with nails," Ranma typed. "Oh I see. That is a good idea. You can type into the laptop while I can just transmit text. Okay." Ranma then handed her laptop to Erika.

"A lot of time?" Sarah asked. "What, you think faster than the rest of us?"

"Not Erika," Ranma said as she simultaneously went over her laptop's abilities with said girl.

"Because she's all computer?"

"Yeah, she was built to think, where I was grown to fight, mostly."

"You're a genius?" Sarah asked.

"Nope. I can think faster, but it's not like I'm any smarter. It's like I have a lot more time to think."

"So you're stuck on simple problems for that much longer?" Dan joked

Ranma smiled sweetly and held up a finger. "I think it's gown time for you."

"I'll be good," Dan said as he backed up. "Wait... that's it! That's how you can use big words and sound more careful. You have plenty of time to look up and choose what you're going to say, don't you?"

Ranma smiled and nodded.

"Speaking of gowns, do you have to wear yours all the time? I mean is it part of the Princess union?" Sarah asked.

"You don't like my gown? But I put so much thought into it. I had to make sure it matched my hair, shoes and accessories," Ranma pouted.

"I was just curious." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I can put on something more casual." Ranma closed her eyes and her clothing shifted, but her hair remained the same. Her tiara vanished but the rest of her jewelry remained as did her high-heeled sandals . She was now wearing a tailored white rose-trimmed blouse and a knee-length red skirt with green accents. Her nails were still manicured with a simple gloss, but her makeup was a bit less, down to only some eye-shading and what might just be lip-gloss.

"Girly, but nice," Sarah complimented.

"I'm not girly. I'm princessy," Ranma pointed as she resumed talking to Erika through her laptop.

"There's a difference? Well I guess for you there is." Sarah sighed "I'm just saying you're more feminine looking than me," Sarah said showing off her t-shirt, jeans and boots. "Look at how different our hair styles are. Though yours is kept that way by magic."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Wow, I expected you to be angry at me saying that."

"We're sisters? No way!" Ranma happily exclaimed.

"What? Are you talking to me?" Sarah asked, quite confused.

"Oh I was talking to Erika using my laptop, and she told me how she used a lot of her AI protocols and tailored them to the task of template upgrading."

"You were talking to Erika and me," Sarah sighed.

"I can handle it. I _was_ talking to _you_ in person," Ranma explained.

"So how does this make you sisters?"

"Since a lot of Ranma's code is based on my own, we're pretty close," Erika said to Sarah.

"That's why you were so happy when Ranma came out of her... transformation," Sarah said.

"I had to be sure at just what Ranma was using in herself as critical functions," Erika smiled at her sister.

"Umm... welcome to the family?" Sarah said.

"Yeah, we're not too normal," Ranma grinned.

Erika calmly closed Ranma's laptop and put it on the table. "Sisters!" she cried as she hugged the two redheads.

"Wow... this sure beats another boring day," Dan said to Gos.

"Tell me about it," Gos agreed. He leaned over to Dan and smiled.. "I can feel everything Erika can right now."

"You know your boyfriend's a real pervert right?" Ranma quietly asked Erika.

"Yeah, but I like him. That's not to say he won't be punished," Erika said as she swiveled to face him.

"Gotta go," Gos said as he vanished.

"So you're Ranma, but you're not," Dan observed.

"Dan!" Sarah said.

"No he's right. There were a lot of changes. Before I would never feel happy dressing like this, or calling myself a princess. I know it's my template telling me those things, but the difference is that now my template IS me. There's no separation between me and my code, or my magic."

"If you knew it cost this much, would you do it again?" Dan asked.

"You're being awfully serious," Sarah noted.

"He's just asking what the rest of you guys want to know," Ranma said.

"Having no tact has its benefits," Dan shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I am different enough from that Ranma where it's hard to tell. Right now I'm free and a magic princess on my own terms. If I hadn't done this. I would have been one on HER terms. I had a few seconds just after I had merged to think this over. It was the best choice available."

"So you are free? No chance of her getting control?" Dan asked.

"She has a better chance of hacking into your template than me," Ranma said.

"What about becoming male?" Dan asked.

Ranma closed her eyes and sighed. "Not right now. I'm still stabilizing from the change. I'm still getting used to a lot of... me."

"Oh, yeah I can see how you'd want to wait a bit." As someone who turned into the other gender regularly, Dan could sympathize a bit.

She sighed. "Even though my choices were very limited. You're right. I'm sorta Ranma. Ranma wasn't a magical princess with living magic as an integral part of her. I am. I guess you could call me Rose, but I'd rather you call me Ranma. I am, was, him."

Dan nodded appearing to be deep in thought. "Wow, that is interesting. So who's up for pizza?"

"Hey! I was having a dramatic moment here!" Ranma pouted.

"And I let you have it, but come on. You're not the only orphan here who's not quite human anymore. I'm a cyborg you know. Sure my brain's still all mundane but I've got plenty of metal on the inside."

"I think it's a bit early to get pizza," Sarah interjected. "How about some nice waffles?"

"Dan's right. I'm not human and I never had parents." Erika said. "But I now have a sister," she said as she smiled at Ranma.

"Good idea! The diner has some good waffles. We can go now!" Dan agreed.

"Let's make sure Allison's okay. She's been upstairs for a while," Sarah said.

"She's probably just trying to get her hair back to normal," Ranma said as she resumed fiddling with her laptop.

"It can get back to normal right?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, it just takes a bit of time in the shower," Ranma smiled as she pulled up a pink, angel senshi on her laptop's display. "Eww... that has to be fixed."

"I guess pink and glitter aren't your thing anymore," Sarah asked as she looked at the display.

"It never was," Ranma sighed.

"But roses are?" Dan asked.

"It's my theme. I am Princess Rose," Ranma shrugged.

"Fair enough," Dan said before going upstairs to check on his girlfriend.

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"Well, I guess this is one way to move things forward," Sarah said as she washed her hands in the bathroom sink at the local diner.

"I'm a bit worried. I mean Ranma's taking this too well." Allison stood next to Sarah and was checking her blonde hair.

"She might still be in shock," Sarah sighed. She was referring to Ranma as a she now, though in light of this transformation...

"At least now we don't have to worry about the hacker-bitch messing with her anymore. If we can believe her," Allison said.

Sarah nodded.

"Hi, girls," Ranma cheerfully greeted as she slid into the bathroom, walking at total ease in her high-heeled sandals. "What are you talking about?"

"Uh... that hacker," Sarah said as she dried her hands.

"I guess it makes sense for her to use this bathroom now," Allison said.

"You're not still mad about the gown thing?" Ranma asked as she stepped up to the sink that Sarah had just finished using. The princess smiled at her reflection and adjusted the bow in her hair.

"Not really," Allison muttered.

"Oh! I was just talking with Erika and we're pretty sure we can integrate wireless communication between us. Erika will come up with the design and when she's done I'll install it in myself. I'm pretty sure we can get something similar for you guys too," Ranma nearly gushed.

"This is what's wrong," Allison told Sarah. "Before this transformation Ranma felt the very idea of a template being creepy and horrible, and now this little princess is practically bursting at all the cool stuff and fancy features she has now."

Ranma's face darkened. "You're right. I am being very upbeat over all these changes. I'll tell you why. During my transformation, I had to make a lot of choices. One of them was how I'd handle all my... inhumanity. Instead of being horrified, I decided it would be better to be amazed and pleased with it."

"You were able to make those kinds of choices?" Allison asked.

"Yes, that's what the merger was. I had to rebuild everything." Ranma flicked one of her dangling earrings. "Everything I am now is what I choose to be."

"Okay," Sarah stated slowly.

"Remember girls, from my perspective I had plenty of time to look at all my options and think over everything. This wasn't just something I've thrown together. I mean this is me. I put some thought into... well.. myself."

"Alright Ranma. Sorry, I'm just worried about you," Sarah said as she looked over the other redhead. "You did change a lot."

Ranma smiled. "Isn't the first time. There was when I was cursed at Jusenkyou, when I was imprinted with my template when I first got here, and today. So far this hasn't been too bad."

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"Okay," Dan said after he finished his second waffle. "Magical princess transformations aside, how does this change things for us?"

"Well... we still need to find out who this hacker-bitch is," Allison said as she and Sarah returned to the table.

"Does Ranma know anything now?" Sarah asked.

"Nope, I asked her if she had any data from the hacker logged into her memory," Erika stated as she happily ate her pancakes. Food was still a pleasant novelty for her.

"And?"

"Sorry, while Ranma now knows all the times the hacker logged into her and what the hacker did. She doesn't know anything else about her. Ranma did figure out her password, not that that matters." Erika grinned at that.

"So we don't know who she is, but we can guess what she wanted to do with Ranma," Gos surmised.

"She's gonna be really pissed when she finds herself locked out of her toy," Allison laughed.

"We could use that, maybe Ranma can trace the hacker the next time she tries to get into her," Sarah proposed as she refilled her juice glass from the carafe.

"Might work," Erika admitted. "We'll ask Ranma when she gets back."

"We don't have so much of an urgency anymore," Sarah said.

"And we don't have to worry about Ranma. At least not about the hacker controlling her."

"I think she's going to be okay," Sarah stated. "At least as okay as the rest of us."

"That's good. After this I guess Erika and I will go back home. We'll call if we get anything new."

"I might just call Ranma to talk," Erika added.

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"Come on! Activate your template. It'll be fun!" Ranma pleaded to her sister.

"You just want to show off your new uniform don't you?" Sarah sighed as she stood out on the range behind their house.

"And maybe spar a bit," Ranma grinned. "I've got all these new things for me to try. I want to get some experience with using this thing"

"You're preparing to fight the hacker aren't you?" Sarah guessed.

"Of course. I want to pay her back. I think she deserves to see the results of her experiment." Ranma laughed. "Now activate your template. I'm gonna be linking with Erika in an hour."

"What?"

"Oh, I'll be connecting to Erika via the phone line. She's gonna be helping me with my mental stuff. Right know I am running mostly on... instinct you'd call it. Apparently, I can streamline a bunch of things."

"Uhh... well make sure you're encrypted so no one eavesdrops on you two."

"We exchanged encoding stuff at the diner." Ranma rolled her eyes. "Now activate your template, please."

"Fine. You go first though."

Ranma nodded and closed her eyes. Green and white light enveloped her. When it retracted, she was wearing knee-high green leather boots with white trim that were embroidered in roses and vines. She wore a tiny pleated red miniskirt and a top that resembled a schoolgirl's uniform... that exposed some cleavage. She had a large red collar with white piping. The long bows on her chest and back were the same green as the bow in her hair.

Her choker was white lace that was done to resemble several intertwined roses. The girl's makeup was the same as that in her princess mode. The engravings in her metal bracers were even more complicated and seemed to glow a faint red. A pair of little white angel wings had formed on her back, and her earrings were little rose studs.

"Aside from the color change it looks about the same," Sarah noted before orange light shifted her into her power armor.

"Hey! I changed my choker. That hunk of glass around my neck hurt!" Sailor Rose said as she fingered the delicate lace around her neck. "Besides. Most of the changes are under the skin," the Sailor Senshi said as she extended her wings into their full size.

"Really?" Sarah activated her scanner and looked over her sister's internal structure. The skeletal and muscular systems looked mostly normal though they were supplemented by some other internal... connections. Her organs were the most changed. Sarah wished she had been more versed in anatomy so she could tell exactly what was different.

"Are... those... tiny missile launchers on your arms," Ranma asked as she eyed her sister's armor.

"You're not the only one that's been working on upgrades," Sarah said as she un-slung the large gun she had stored on her back.

Sailor Rose flared her bracers. "Your weapons do have a stun setting right?"

"Of course," Sarah fired her engines and aimed her gun. "All high-explosive tipped rockets come with stun settings."

Sailor Rose nodded. "Wait... what?"

Sarah laughed. "Of course I'm using weaker stuff. We're just practicing."

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"That's the popcorn you made before Ran-man's transformation, isn't it?" Dan asked as he and Allison watched the two redheads spar.

"Of course, I didn't get a chance to eat all of it," the blonde said before handing the bowl to Dan, who declined.

High above them, Sarah released a volley of little missiles. The flying senshi twisted in midair and released a stream of thin red beams from her hands that intercepted half of the missiles. The few remaining fell forward and hit a white spherical shield that appeared around her.

When it died down Sailor Rose was hovering in midair holding a small wand. The end of the wand was a small white rosebud that connected to a green shaft. The senshi flipped her hand and the wand vanished.

She flapped her wings and shot forward towards her sister, while firing a pair of impressive looking but harmless beams. Sarah responded by cutting her engines and firing her main gun at the senshi.

Rose then adjusted her aim to intercept the incoming shots. She then walked the beams forward until she hit the gun and knocked it out of Sarah's armored hands. The weapon tumbled to the ground where it shattered and vanished.

Sarah powered her jets up again and released another volley of missiles. Her eyes widened when Rose spread her beams and used them to try to plow through the incoming fire. Most of the missiles were destroyed but a few managed to hit the senshi.

Sailor Rose grabbed her sister's left arm and Sarah, much to her surprise, found herself overpowered by the magical girl. With her free hand she pointed the missile launcher at her sister's head.

"I got you!" Sarah said triumphantly. She then looked down to see that Rose had a glowing fist pointed at her chest. "Oh nuts," Sarah said before cutting her engines again and disconnecting the armor on her left arm and slipped out.

Sailor Rose crushed the empty armor she was holding and pursued. She dodged another batch of micro-missiles. This time, she knew their pattern of attack and intercepted all of them.

With her unarmored arm Sarah grabbed a sidearm attached to her belt and managed to get off one shot before a red beam knocked it out of her hand. The younger redhead growled and launched one more volley of missiles.

Rose narrowed her eyes and with one arm she intercepted most of the missiles, while with the other she plucked a few out of the air, temporarily, disabled their fuses and flipped them back at Sarah.

"Oh, crap," Sarah said, as she used her armored hand to block her own weapons. Her altitude was already low and she used this as an opportunity to make landfall. "Okay, how the hell did you do that?" she shouted to her airborne sister.

Sailor Rose gently landed on her high-heeled boots. "Your missiles are impressive. It took me a few rounds to find a good countermeasure to them. Though once I could catch them it was pretty easy to use them against you."

"Okay, so you can do more than just brute force your way in," Sarah noted.

"That would have been too easy," Sailor Rose said as she summoned her wand.

"That's what you used to make your shield?"

"Yeah, and what the hacker-girl gave me nightmares about," Rose frowned as she looked at her wand. "But this thing can also do some other wild stuff. It's kinda like my laptop, but for my higher fighting stuff. Like an extra set of power focusing."

"So, what else does it do?"

"Well I could twirl, spin, give a magic girl pose and then blast something with a huge purification blast."

"Purification?" Sarah asked as she shifted out of her template.

"Yup! It'll fry just about anything it touches," Sailor Rose smiled. She then closed her eyes and in a flash she had returned to her blouse and skirt.

"How the hell is that purification?"

"The leftover atoms would be really clean, and on it's lower settings it can remove dark taints, possession, and stuff like that," Ranma added.

"Oh-kay. And what about that strength you had back there? I mean, you overpowered my armor."

"Oh that, I had the chance to get stronger. I think it will be useful if I ever have to fight a mech again." Ranma's expression turned serious. "We should start upgrading you guys. You could probably do with just some new weapons, maybe a shield or two. Dan... poor guy needs regeneration. Maybe something based off of one of those newer Terminators."

Ranma summoned a white palmtop and started making notes with a green stylus. The device had the same red rose logo on the back and ergonomic style as her laptop. "Allison... her invisibility is good, but we have to do something with the side effects of the chemical she uses. I mean we can't have her going crazy. Well worse. And that's just the start. She's the weakest of all of us." The redhead paused to think, tapping the stylus on her lips. "Well... that's pretty out there but it might work."

"You're thinking of upgrades for all of us?" Sarah asked. "What are you planning?"

"The hacker-girl's not going to be happy now that she can't control me. We have to be ready. She'll probably attack with all she has."

"And it's not like any of us are adverse to upgrading ourselves." Sarah nodded. She then noticed what Ranma was writing into. "Did you just make a palmtop?"

"It wasn't much." Ranma blushed. "I mean it's just an input device and display. It can't do any of the more advanced stuff that my laptop can. I know I don't need to take notes this way, but it helps me think."

"So instead of just recording the notes all internally you just write them down onto a computer that's really just another part of you?" Sarah asked. She then noticed that the stylus was the same green color as Ranma's wand and that its white tip looked an awful lot like a rosebud. That much made sense. All this stuff had the same theme and were just different parts of Ranma.

"I know. I know."

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Sarah's father, Sheriff Jack O'Neil slumped down into the living room recliner. It had been another hard day at the station. Confusion crossed his face when he saw a redhead glide into the room wearing a formal green dress and carefully maintained hair. "Ranma? Is something wrong?" the law officer asked.

"Well... I decided to solve my hacker problem, and there were some side effects," Ranma sighed.

"Side effects?" Jack asked. "So, what happened?"

"I guess it is a good thing Dan taped it," Ranma said as she summoned her laptop and played the recording of her transformation. As it happened she explained the steps of the transformation.

"So... you merged with your template, and are now a magic princess?" Jack asked. He felt a fairly strong desire to have a drink.

"It was a gamble. On the one hand I'm in control of myself now, on the other I'm like this," Ranma said as she rubbed her right hand over her left bracelet.

"Well, it's good that you're in control, and it's good you told me about this," Jack said as he got up and went to the kitchen. "Of course the Town Fathers would have wondered about this. I mean... living magic? Organic technology? That's something," Jack said as he poured himself a double-shot, drank it and refilled the glass. He then returned to the living room.

"You okay?" Ranma asked after making her laptop disappear.

"Oh yes, it's just that there's some girl in this town who was using you as an experiment in new advances in Calash magic. I just hope this doesn't erupt into a big fight."

Ranma recalled her own plans for upgrading her friends. "I hope it doesn't, too. Don't you care that I'm a magic princess now?"

Jack paused in thought for a bit. "Magic princess of what is the question."

"Since, I'm Princess Rose. My guess would be something to do with roses or plants in general."

"So you've got weird plant magic now? Fits." Jack sat back down into his chair.

"I can try some stuff later, but right now there's other things to take care of," Ranma agreed

"I see. Oh, the stuff you're wearing, I think your mother would have liked very much.. She had her share of jeans and shirts but she liked looking nice too."

"Thanks," Ranma blushed.

"Well the garden has been abandoned since your mother died. It could use some work," Jack proposed mostly in jest.

"Really? Thanks!" Ranma ran over and hugged Jack.

As a manically, giggling Ranma ran out of the room, Jack consumed the drink he had been holding. When he went back to work tomorrow he would find the necessary forms. It was time for him to act like a father... for both of his children.

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"And what are you up to?" Sarah asked as she looked at Ranma. The princess was sitting on her legs with her knees together with her laptop in front of her. Two stacks of compact discs were next to her.

"I'm installing a few things," Ranma said as she ejected a disc and replaced it with another.

Sarah looked over some of the titles. There were some music discs, some games, a few CAD discs, a couple programming languages, and various other applications. "I see you raided my and Dan's collections."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I felt that my laptop was lacking a few things."

"You are your laptop," Sarah remarked dryly.

"That's true." Ranma agreed. She swapped discs again. "So what's up?"

"I was wondering if you were ready to try going back to male."

"Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me, Sis. Just let me finish up." Ranma quickly transferred the remaining data.

"So you think you're stable enough?" Sarah asked as Ranma closed her laptop and made it disappear.

"Yeah, I think so," Ranma said as she jumped up to a standing position.

"You need water?"

"Nope!" Ranma smiled as she closed her eyes. Her form glowed and shifted. "Wow! That worked," Ranma said as he flexed his arm. He was dressed in his normal black pants and red shirt.

"So everything worked out?" Sarah asked. "You can even go male." The redhead looked at her brother's distant expression. "What's wrong?"

"I... I... can't feel it," Ranma flexed his arm again. "My mind's empty," he slowly said as look of horror crossed his face.

"What's wrong?" Sarah repeated. "Oh no..."

"I should have known," Ranma sighed, leaning against the bed frame. He closed his eyes, glowed, and shifted back into female form and into her full princess mode. She smiled at the sensation. She was whole again.

"The merger?"

"I was worried about this," she sighed as she flipped one of her bangs. "That living magic's a part of me and when I'm male..."

"It's missing," Sarah completed. "I'm sorry, Bro."

Ranma shifted into slightly more casual clothes. "It's okay. Even if there weren't any side effects, I still would have been a girl that turned into a guy."

"So your manhood?"

"Again, part of the price for being free."

Sarah put her hand on the other redhead's shoulder. "Sis... we're going to get the bitch that did this to you. We're going to make her pay."

Ranma smiled in return. "Of course we will. We're the ones in control now. She'll have to start reacting to us."

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"Wild Rose School?" Dan asked as he put his truck into park and turned off the turbojet engine he had installed in it.

"I am a martial artist," Ranma shrugged from the backseat.

"I thought you were a princess," Allison teased.

Ranma narrowed her made-up eyes. "I can be both."

"So, Wild Rose? Yeah that fits you," Sarah said, next to Ranma.

"Technically, it will be the Wild Rose branch of Anything Goes," Ranma explained. "It's gonna be too different from my... father's style." The redhead frowned.

"So it's gonna use all your living magic stuff then?" Dan asked before getting out of the truck.

"That'll narrow down who you can teach it to," Allison remarked.

Ranma got out of the truck after Sarah did. "Don't worry about that. It's way too early for students anyway," the princess said as she smoothed her long dress and checked her bow.

"You look nice," Allison asked. "Bit more than your normal blouse and skirt."

"I've only been like this for twenty-four hours."

"Still, you spent a bunch of time this morning standing in front of a mirror deciding what to wear," Sarah sighed.

"I wanted to make a good impression. It's my first day here as... you know," Ranma quietly said.

"Wow, vain, and vacillating over first appearances. Yeah you're a real girl," Allison laughed.

"Girl?" Ranma asked. "I'm not that mundane."

"There's that strong ego!"

"Well, how were your dreams last night?" Sarah asked.

Ranma smiled, her eyes seeming to sparkle. "It was great. I was in my pretty gown and I had hunted down the hacker girl and had blasted her with my wand. I then demolished her base and plowed it over into a giant garden."

"That sounds nice." Allison nodded in approval. "And don't worry about your clothes. You did good. Sure your dress is a bit formal, but that's kinda your thing, I guess."

"Thanks!" Ranma beamed as she posed in her knee-length dress. It was white with red trim. A red belt patterned in white roses cinched it in slightly. She was wearing just a bit less makeup than in her princess mode and had on her normal pendant, hanging earrings and ring. The large bow in the back of her neck was white.

Sarah initially wanted to say something like "Don't encourage her." but when she saw her sister's pleased expression decided against it. Instead she asked something else as they walked from the parking lot to the school. "So, no purse or backpack?"

"Why would I need those?" Ranma shrugged. "I've already scanned the books we use."

Sarah sighed in embarrassment. "And with your laptop, palm, and stylus you don't need to carry anything."

"So you've learned everything in those textbooks?" Dan asked.

Ranma laughed. "Why waste the time on all that? The data's just stored in my memory. I don't understand anything I haven't learned yet, but I guess I can spend class time figuring it out though."

"Well, let's get this first impression over with. Though I don't know how many people will care that you're a girl now, Ran-man. I mean they didn't care about the curse." Dan had heard from Sarah what had happened when Ranma had tried to go male.

"I think they'll be more worried by what their I/O spheres show them," Sarah stated. "Ranma does have this living magic in her after all."

"Oh that, Erika helped me find a way to give off fake signals. Anyone who passively scans me will just get a girl with a powerful, but normal, template."

"And an active scan or if someone tried to log into you?" Sarah asked.

"Then they get a nasty little surprise," Ranma smiled darkly.

"You think you can trace back to the I/O sphere tracking you?"

"I was able to do it yesterday during my transformation," Ranma shrugged.

"What will you do?" Allison asked.

"To start with I'll do to them what I did to you, but much harder to get out of. Then, I'll destroy every piece of equipment I can connect to. Of course, I'll trace out their location if possible."

"Harsh," Dan smiled.

"No one is violating my mind, ever again." Ranma swore. "I am the magic. The template is me. Any hacker will be fighting me if they tried."

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Ned Winston sighed as he sipped his coffee, in the student lounge. On the second floor, it overlooked the main entranceway to the school. He had his laptop and I/O sphere out and was working on some of his mech plans when something caught his attention. He normally kept his sphere in passive scan. It was a handy way to keep on tabs with his classmate's templates.

"Oh, Ranma and her friends are here," Ned absently noted when he got their feed. "That's... strange." He examined the signal feed from Ranma. It was a good template, but hardly seemed powerful enough to take down that mech back then.

Ned's confusion grew when he pulled up a previous scan of Ranma's. "That's strange, it's different. I thought she was locked. I guess that hacker could have changed it," he then looked down to the second floor and caught sight of the redhead in question.

_She cleans up pretty well,_ Ned thought to himself as he packed up his equipment. He felt it was a good idea to talk to them. Something was up. He hoped that they had found a way to get control of Ranma's template. That would nicely resolve this whole Rebecca thing, or at least his responsibility.

He adjusted his jacket and climbed down the stairs and caught up with them. The more femininely dressed redhead was happily chatting with Ned's sister's friend Abby. The others in Ranma's group seemed a bit nervous and... confused.

"It was nice talking to you," Ranma smiled as she finished talking to Sarah's childhood friend.

"Great! And Ranma, I don't think you'll have too many problems here. Most people don't care that you're a girl now, and those that do are jerks, like Brad, anyway," Abby reassured.

Ranma blushed slightly. "Thanks."

Abby waved and walked off to her own class.

"Thank goodness for apathy," Ranma smiled.

"It's comes in handy," Ned interjected. "So, what's new?"

Ranma turned to face him and Ned froze. Piercing blue eyes instantly turned from amused to calculating. For a brief instant her gaze had gotten even fiercer than the last time they had met. Ned was about to step back when her expression warmed. "Hi Ned, I'm doing fine. Well... I am now. I had to do some drastic things to deal with the hacker girl, but I'm in control now." Her lips formed a playful smirk.

"That's good," Ned said guarding his expression. Rebecca's control had been defeated. That was interesting. He stole another glance at Ranma. Her face looked open but there was something there. Those blue eyes were still tracking him.

"Oh by the way." The redhead stepped closer to Ned with a cute look on her face and leaned next to him.. "If you've learned anything new about the hacker-girl, I'd really... appreciate it," she said, running her fingers through his hair.

Ned blinked, the physical contact seemed to tingle. "Uh... there's a few leads I've been chasing. On those stolen designs of mine. Might be another dead end but... might not," he stated. It was hard to think. Her eyes still looked like they were taking him apart piece by piece.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Ranma smiled. "Do tell me if you get anything useful." She briefly fluttered her eyelashes.

"Um... okay," Ned said as he stepped back. "I'll do my best, see you later." After hearing Ranma say goodbye, he turned away. As this happened he caught a series of horrified, confused, and puzzled glances from Ranma's friends.

"What the hell was that?" Sarah asked.

"I guess you could do worse than Ned," Allison stated. "Well welcome to the team," the blonde laughed.

"Hey! It's not like that!" Ranma defended. "I did it all the time back in Nerima."

"Huh?" Sarah asked.

"The cute act's a great way to get people to do stuff for you."

"Really?" Dan asked. "Hmm..."

"Oh no you don't," Allison said to her boyfriend.

"What? You're worried of this?" Dan said before shifting into girl-form. "Why can't you trust me?" Dan pouted as she clung to the blonde girl.

Allison's eye twitched as she looked at the red-eyed, dark makeup, and black wearing girl. "Must... resist... cute Goth..."

"Why?"

"Ranma! You're corrupting my cousin!" Sarah paused to think over what she just said. "Impressive. Good job."

"Are you going to cling to me all day?" Allison asked.

Dan nodded before leaning her head back onto her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Okay," the blonde sighed as she wrapped her arm around the girl leaning on her.

"You do know you're not punishing her at all right?" Sarah asked her cousin.

"Let them have their fun," Ranma added.

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"Looking good," Sarah said as she studied the list on Ranma's laptop.

"It's just a few suggestions for improvement."

"Well, some of your weapons require too much power to use, and that shield you have in mind is a bit much..."

"Sis... you need a solid shield. It's your biggest weakness, that and you're sorely lacking some long range heavy weapons," Ranma said as she ate the lunch she purchased.

"Heh... you couldn't summon food could you?" Allison teased.

"I forgot. Okay?" Ranma glared. "At least I had a purse I could summon."

"Well maybe we can fit this stuff in," Sarah said as she looked over the proposed designs.

"Great!" Ranma beamed. "We can get started on Dan's next."

"Oh dear..." Dan said from next to Allison.

"It's just an idea..." Ranma proposed. Her face suddenly turned dark, before an amused smile crossed her face.

"Sis?" Sarah asked.

"Hacker's trying to get in! I found her!" Ranma gleefully said.

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From the bedroom of her house, Rebecca Langley narrowed her eyes. She was planning on checking in on her test subject yesterday, but she had failed to show up at school. The I/O sphere she had stashed in the school had picked up on the test subject and that's when the trouble started.

It looked like the template had accepted her password but that when things started to get strange. The connection to the computer she had plugged into the I/O sphere started to act up.

A shock seemed to come out of her laptop and her arms were suddenly encased in silk and lace and her clothing had blossomed out into some glittery monstrosity. She gasped as her chest was constricted by a corset and her hair seemed to restyle itself into an upswept bridal nightmare.

Before Rebecca could freak out at what had been done to her, a series of warnings flashed onto her computer's screen. "This can't be..." Rebecca muttered as she grabbed the cables connecting her laptop to the rest of her system with a gloved hand and yanked.

Ignoring her state of dress, she started to work. The hacker watched in horror as the intruder managed to counteract everything she did. It was futile. Rebecca snarled in anger and pulled the power and batteries out of the laptop.

She looked at her reflection on the dead screen and finally noticed what had been done to her. "How did... God! Look at this makeup!" She then looked closer at the gown she had been stuffed into.

"No... it can't be. _She_ did this to me?" Rebecca stated. "How did my test subject get away from me? She's this powerful?" She asked as she tried to peel off one of the gloves. It was slow going.

"This... isn't good." Rebecca sighed. "The experiment has escaped my control, it's time to put it down. Oh God! What happened to my hair? Why can't this move?"

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Ranma walked down from the range with a smile on her face. She made her way back to the house quickly.

"Nice threads," Sarah said pausing her searching of the kitchen cabinets. "

"Thanks," Ranma said as she showed off her white silk gi. It had dark red trim and green kanji on the back that said "Wild Rose"

"So, having fun training?" Sarah asked as she resumed rummaging. "Yes! Here's the cereal. Why can't Dan just keep it in the same place?"

"Yup," Ranma smiled. "I've got a few things in mind."

"Sorry to hear that you didn't get anything from the hacker."

"The hacker-girl managed to isolate and shut down her stuff. At least I got some of her programs and managed to stick her into that gown," Ranma giggled at that.

"I don't get that, didn't you have to see her to dress her that way?" Sarah asked.

"Not much. Technically, I didn't dress her like that. A little program of mine did. I know for sure she's a female, but that's about it. Maybe if I blindly dressed our suspects I'd figure it out."

"I think that's a bit far."

"But this hacker-girl's a wily one, and annoyingly half of our suspect list is absent from school. There was nothing identifying in her own computer. I'm sure she kept it that way as a precaution."

After she poured herself a bowl of cereal, Sarah looked at her sister again. "Do you always wear that bow?"

"Hey! I like it okay? It reminds me of an old friend."

"Sorry Sis, It's okay," Sarah defused. "It does look good."

"It's alright." Ranma smiled. "I'm still getting used to all this." She then closed her eyes and her clothing shifted to a green tank top and a pair of white shorts. She only wore her ring and a pair of simple silver rose-stud earrings.  
Her feet were bare as well.

"That's a bit casual for you," Sarah noted.

"I'm going to be gardening, silly," Ranma laughed.

"You're going to work on Mom's old garden?"

"Yup!" Ranma nodded.

"The tools are still in the shed."

"Why would I use tools? I want to feel the dirt myself. Besides, I'm strong enough."

Sarah smiled. "That's really good. Some flowers would cheer this place up. Going for roses I bet?"

"Of course," Ranma blushed.

After her sister left, Sarah dropped her smile. Something had to be done. They had to talk.

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Jack O'Neil walked around the back of his house carrying a small folder. He turned the corner to see a redhead clearing an overgrown and wild garden with her bare hands. They were glowing a soft white but they were still bare. She had already cleared more than half of the large meandering hill-side garden.

As O'Neil walked up he looked over the ground that had been cleared. It looked like freshly tilled potting soil, instead of the thin soil over clay that was natural to the area. As he watched he could see the soil... changing under the effects of the girl's energy.

"Impressive," he said when the redhead finally looked up at him.

"Hello, Jack," Ranma greeted, banishing the glow in her hands.

"That's something that I wanted to talk about," the lawman said as he handed the folder over to the girl.

Ranma opened the folder and read the papers. "What's this for?"

"I've treated my wife's child lousy. I know I'm not here much for Sarah, but I wasn't here for you at all. You made a huge decision on your own. I understand if you don't want to do this."

"I'd be honored... Dad," Ranma smiled as she hugged her new father.

"Welcome to the family," Jack said as he returned the hug.

After it was over, Ranma went back to the paperwork. "Uh, Dad," the redhead smiled. It was good to be able to say that again. "You left the my name blank at the end of this and my gender at the start."

"Well I didn't know if you wanted to have my last name, or change your first, and with your transformation..." Jack explained while waving his hand.

"Your name was good enough for Mom," Ranma smiled as she summoned her green stylus which quickly changed into a pen. She then filled out the name line, checked a gender box, signed the paperwork, and handed it back to Jack.

"Ranma Rose O'Neil," Jack said reading the new name. "It's a fine name. I like how it rolls of the tongue, nice." The gender the new O'Neil had checked was what the officer expected it to be.

"Thanks. Wow, that was easy."

"Things are done casually around here." Jack shrugged. "So, what are you planning to do here?" he asked taking a closer look at the garden.

Jack knew by the size of his new daughter's grin, that he was going to be here for a while.

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As she got ready for bed, Sarah narrowed her eyes as she watched her sister shift into just wearing her underwear. The other redhead was wearing a modest white bra and panties set. Of course they were rose patterned. "What's wrong, Sis?"

Ranma frowned at her dresser and her section of the closet. "I'm torn. I mean I could leave this stuff here, but it's a reminder of what I can't do anymore. I don't want to toss it out either."

"Maybe you can just point your hand and turn all of Ranma's stuff into yours, Rose," Sarah evenly stated.

"Sis? I am Ranma," the older redhead stated.

"Yes, you told us at dinner. You're now Ranma Rose O'Neil. You're also female. Of course you're the Rose Princess. Which one is it? I'd like to know whether or not my brother survived yesterday."

"Sis... why are you doing this...can't you accept me... I'm... afraid." tears had started to form into the magical princess's eyes.

Sarah reached over and cupped her sister's chin in her hand. "Next time, tell me what's got you worried. Don't just hide behind some happy facade."

Ranma blinked. Her expression rapidly shifting. "What... this was a test?"

"Before you say anything. I'll accept you even if the only remnants of Ranma in you are his memories. No matter what you're still family and I still love you."

"So you... knew..." Ranma sighed.

"That you were being a tad more happy than you were? A bit, you slipped up a little in the bathroom of the diner."

Ranma nodded. "First. I really AM happy. That's still true. I'm choosing to be happy with what I am, but... I'm also scared. This is still very new for me, and I'm not even sure what I am," Ranma sighed. "Sorry for trying to hide this. I thought I'd be all sorted out once I got a chance to coalesce more."

"Wow, for someone who thinks a lot faster than us normal humans that's a lot of pauses," Sarah joked.

Ranma formed a small smile at that.

"Look, even a magical, artificially enhanced life-form can get scared. Just remember you have a family that can help you," Sarah said as she hugged Ranma.

"I know. I know," Ranma said as a few more tears escaped her eyes.

"So anything you want to talk about," Sarah asked after they had finished hugging.

"Well one thing worried me," Ranma's eyes darted around the room and her voice became quiet. "I'm a princess. I accept that. Honestly, I really like it. However, princesses almost always have one thing..."

"They have a lot of things, Sis: magical powers, curses, Senshi, castles, evil witches..."

"You overlooked the obvious." Ranma sighed. "Princess. For every princess there's usually a prince."

"Oh..."

End ch8

Author's Notes

Well, guess some of you though you'd never see anymore of this story again?

Special thanks to PyroRaven for getting me interested in this story again

Thanks to my Prereaders PyroRaven, Jerry Starfire, Wray, Patrick, Truk, Mondu


	9. New Growth

Generation Lost

Josh Temple

To clear up some of the confusion Ranma's not mine, neither are the various cameos, template ideas, or character references. However the concept for Calash, templates, imprinting and such is mine.

Website: 9 New Growth

"These orders have forced us to declare independence."

Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

Ranma was clearing out her garden. The redhead smiled at that, _her_ garden. It was originally her mother's, but after more than two years of no one tending it, it had become overgrown.

The redhead stopped her work; the white glow around her hands vanishing. A few yards down the slope, there was something obscured by a couple of trees that caught her eye. It was a large bush that had thick gnarled branches. Only the shape of the leaves betrayed what it really was.

A smile formed on her face as she bounded over to the bush. "Wow... you're a lovely old thing," she said as she ran her hands over the plant, taking care to avoid the thorns, some of them several inches in length.

"I guess the trees helped protect you," Ranma thought as she looked at the saplings. "Still, you're not doing so well. Don't even have the energy to bloom." Ranma frowned as she knelt down to examine the plant further. "Great roots and branches though."

"I can't let one of Mom's roses live like this," Ranma said as she shifted into her princess mode. Careful not to let her long dress get caught on anything she stood back up and stepped back. She smiled sensing, the life-force of the plant. The rosebush was very strong, very hardy. It would be perfect. The princess summoned her wand and pointed it at the bush, enveloping it with a bright green light.

Ranma smiled as she watched new leaves start to bud on the bush. More importantly she could feel a connection to the plant. "Don't worry," she giggled to the bush. "I'll let you get used to your changes. I'm not gonna force you to bloom."

"I should have known you'd be talking to plants, but isn't this dress a bit much? I mean, don't you have clothing specifically for gardening?" Dan asked as he walked up to the girl.

"Sure, I could have just pulled my wand out. It's not that complicated of a spell," Ranma said as she shifted back into a tank top and shorts. "But, it's a special occasion. One my Mom's plants that survived is a rosebush!"

"This big thing?" Dan said as he looked over the plant. "It's a mess of thorns and branches."

"Roses have thorns, you know," Ranma sighed as she went to work on clearing around the bush. She decided to leave the trees in place. They would make good wind breaks. "So, what are you doing here? I'm pretty sure you guys aren't interested in gardening."

"I was walking back from the range and saw a girl wearing a green gown blasting a plant with a wand. That made me a bit curious."

"Oh I see," Ranma nodded. She looked up from magically improving the soil to study the bush again. "You have no idea how great this is, Dan!"

"Huh?"

"I was worried that I'd have to grow some bushes from seeds or maybe from a garden center. But now I've got good stock to grow my plants from! Look at how well it's responding to my magic."

Dan could see the plant was greening up and was looking more alive. "This thing? A wild rosebush that you've found in the woods?"

"Well yeah... Wild Rose school. Besides, I don't mean to be rude Dan, but what if you found something of your mother's?"

Dan frowned. "Yah... guess that would be something. It _is_ an impressive plant. Got nice big thorns on it."

"Yeah, roses really are great. They're very hardy plants, very deep roots."

Dan sighed. Ranma was babbling about roses again. "As mind-numbingly fascinating as that is... I'm gonna make lunch."

"Lunch?" Ranma looked at her mother's rosebush. "I'll be right in. I'm gonna try putting some protective spells in this thing, and link it to me."

"Um... okay," Dan said before walking back to the house.

* * *

"I heard you found one of mother's rosebushes," Sarah asked her sister. Both girls were in the room they shared.

"Yup! It's a great plant," Ranma said as she sorted through her dresser drawers. "Say, did you know if Mom liked roses?"

"I think she liked them fine," Sarah shrugged. "What are you doing?"

"I'm converting my clothes." Ranma then pointed at the boxers in the drawer and with a white light they shifted into rose themed bras and panties.

"I thought you weren't sure what you were going to do?"

"Running out of acceptable underwear forced me to make a choice." Ranma sighed. "Magic clothes are great and all that, but they're not so good for use as undergarments for a prolonged period."

"Oh... strange."

"Yeah, it took me a bit of time to figure it out. My 'magic clothes' are really me shifting the clothing I'm already wearing."

"And they don't get cleaned each time you change?"

"Technically they do, but it doesn't feel as clean as new clothes," Ranma shrugged.

"That explains why you take your blouse and skirt off every night before going to bed."

"Exactly."

"So it's only a matter of time before all your clothing is converted anyway?" Sarah asked.

"I suppose I could just wear a couple outfits and keep the rest as some memorial to before my transformation, but then I'd have to do laundry a lot more. This way's much better," Ranma said as she started looking at what was in her next drawer.

"So... anymore thoughts on that prince stuff?"

"Huh? Ranma said, dropping the black tights she had just made from a pair of pants. "Oh... that... I don't really know. I'm not feeling any different."

"Not even when you were teasing Ned?"

"Nope." Ranma shrugged as she picked up the tights. She then changed a red tang into a female cut and added some rose embroidery and gold etching. It ended up kind of fancy, but she liked fancy now.

"I guess you're just waiting for your specific prince. In most of the fairy tales the princess does only have eyes for him."

"That's a fun thought," Ranma deadpanned as she resumed converting her clothing. She was at her closet now and was going for blouses, dresses, and skirts.

"As long as you're not feeling any strange urges..."

Ranma raised an eyebrow.

"About princes."

"If what you said is true, I'll know it if I meet him," Ranma frowned.

"You okay? This might not even happen, and you seem okay with being a girl."

"A girl yes, but liking some guy is something else."

"Maybe it's a prince from your past?"

"That's making it worse!"

"Okay, maybe he became a prince. You became a princess."

"Still, there weren't any good guys from Nerima. Even if I was into boys, I'd never be interested in any of them!" Ranma sighed. She blinked. "I became a princess."

"Yeah?"

"That could work. If I find myself looking for a prince... that's what I'll do!"

"Care to fill me in?" Sarah asked.

"I've been looking at this the wrong way. This prince thing just means that if I find the right person. Someone I fall in love with, THAT will be my prince!"

"Oh, that's better for you?"

"Sure it is. I'm not attracted to guys. So a female prince is likely," Ranma smiled as she resumed transforming her shoes.

"That's a lot of high-heeled sandals," Sarah noted.

"I like 'em," Ranma shrugged. "Besides I have a pair of sneakers and a pair of boots."

"Still..." Sarah shook her head. "Back to the topic. You're not worried that the person you fall in love with will be male?

"Not really. If I fall for a guy, then he has got to be worth it. I'm Princess Rose. Whoever I fall for is gonna have to meet my standards."

"With an ego like that..." Sarah laughed. "Still, Prince is kinda gender specific."

"Yeah, but there's a couple female princes in magical girl things. I mean there's that show... Utena. It has a rose princess and she ends up with a girl in the end."

"And in Sailor Moon there are two lesbian Senshi?"

"Yup."

"Of course in that show, the princess ends up with a total loser of a prince."

Ranma frowned. "Yeah, horrible waste of perfectly good roses. Whoever, whatever my prince is, I'm not gonna let her pull that kind of nonsense."

"Provided you find Mr. Right," Sarah suggested.

"I'm not in any hurry, and I'm sure it will be a Miss Right."

* * *

Ranma smiled as she cut a clipping from her mother's rosebush using a thin line of red light from her finger. "I know you don't like being cut, but you're healthy now and you're all alone out here." The plant had exceeded her expectations. It had even started to form flower buds. It was still a large, unruly monster of a bush, but it was very healthy looking and seemed to pulse with vitality.

The redhead walked over to a garden she was making just down slope from the mother bush and planted the clipping. She summoned her wand and with a burst of green energy it had sprouted roots and was well on its way.

Closing her eyes, Ranma could feel the weak connection the young plant had with the main bush and herself. "Good. You're growing great." Ranma then repeated the pattern and planted a few more new bushes.

She then felt someone entering her garden. "Sis!" the redhead said as the turned to hug her blue-haired sister.

Erika smiled and returned the hug. "Impressive use of life energy and plant-based computing," she said, studying the roses. With her sister's help she had constructed her own internal I/O sphere.

"The computer side's just a pleasant side effect," Ranma dismissed. "It's useful in knowing how they're doing though."

"I think there's more use to this than just that. If your plants can tell you if they need water or sunlight..."

"Oh my," Ranma smiled. "I'll tell Dan that I can help with his little sensor net."

"Can you make plants with sensors in them?"

"I've got some roses. Let's see if we can," Ranma said as she summoned her laptop.

* * *

"Impressive range on your projector," Dan said, while he sliced an apple.

"The projector's inside me, but yes it does have to transmit to our body," Gos agreed as he stood at the other side of the kitchen table.

"Well, I'm worried," Dan suddenly said after eating an apple slice.

"About what? There's a lot to be worried about."

"This time it's our two computer-girls. Whenever they get together..."

"They do make good stuff," Gos pointed.

"They're getting bolder. I just wonder what they'll make next," Dan shrugged.

"Wait... you love this tech stuff." Gos narrowed his eyes. "I see. You just want them to help you with your template."

"You got me. Look at what Ran-man's been helping Sarah with. We should be good to go."

"Yes, the hacker-bitch does like her robots and mechs." Gos nodded.

"There you are, honey!" Allison said as she walked into the kitchen. "I thought you were going to drive me to the grocery store."

"I... forgot," Dan explained. "We can go now..."

"Yes, we will," Allison said as she grabbed Dan's hand. "Oh, and talk to the Princess today about getting your gender thing fixed. I'm getting sick of having to reinstall the program every week."

Gos looked around the empty room. "Well I guess I'll check in on Erika then," he said before the projection switched off.

* * *

Rebecca growled as she studied her reflection. It had taken over a dozen baths, but the glitter and pink dye in her hair was finally starting to diminish. The activities of her former test subject were... confusing.

It was clear that the girl had considerable power now, but she was spending a lot of time making a garden. At least the regular combat sparring and other training made sense.

Despite herself, Rebecca was impressed. She had underestimated the power of the technology she was testing. It was clear that the redhead's programming had rapidly advanced and likely had integrated into her.

While Rebecca was curious as to what made such an event happen, she was more curious as to what her test subject's powers were. She would have to be... cautious. Her sensor drones had even been pulled back a bit.

She looked at her reflection again. This prank was actually pretty clever. With such a clear and outrageous change to her hair, she was forced to stay at home. She would need more power. Her current inventory of mechs was a good start, but it was time she used her second test subject.

She sighed. This Ryoga person would need considerable upgrades before he would stand a chance against the last version of the first test subject. Rebecca knew that this Rose person had to be much stronger. Her second test subject would have to have some new offensive weapons and some regeneration to start with.

* * *

"Okay... I think that will solve your power issues," Ranma said as she swiveled her laptop to face Sarah.

"Wow. That's an interesting upgrade to my power system," Sarah said, while looking over the plans. "I think I can build this."

"Good," Ranma beamed. "I just enlarged the capacity and streamlined a few things. Your original design is very powerful."

"Okay." Sarah transferred the design to her laptop. "This is what I'm thinking of. I can double the volley capacity for my micro-missiles and add a pair of medium laser mounts on these underside arm slots," Sarah explained after pulling up a diagram of her armor system.

"Nice... this'll fit in well with the rail-guns I've been working on for you," Ranma grinned. She then showed Sarah the rotating figure of a large silver gun.

"You figured out how to make a rail-gun?" Sarah continued to be impressed at her sister's progress.

Ranma blushed. "Not really, I modified one of Dan's old designs, made it small enough to be carried by you, and upped the rate of fire."

"Still..." Sarah read over the abilities. "I see why you wanted to change my power systems. The energy increase will be just about eaten up by this and those new shields."

"That's great! I'm happy that you like it!"

Sarah blinked at the exuberant girl. "I've still got to transfer the code into my template and test it out."

"Of course..." Ranma blinked, and an evil smile grew on her face. "Hacker girl's back!"

"What? She's attacking?"

"Nope, it's just another one of her spy-bots," Ranma shrugged as she got up from the kitchen table.

"You tapped into Dan's sensor network?" Sarah asked.

"Something like that," Ranma grinned. Then in a flash of green and white light she transformed into Sailor Rose.

"Wait for me!" Sarah shifted into her template.

Rose jumped out the back door and extended her wings. She flew a dozen yards and adjusted her heading and when she had a straight shot at her target released a thin pair of red beams. "That's a hit!" Sailor Rose cheered.

Sarah followed her sister. She landed next to Rose who was disassembling a good-sized robot. "That thing was cloaked wasn't it?" she asked the Sailor Senshi.

"Yup," Sailor Rose said, her hand resting on the robot's computer core. "Dang... hacker-girl really keeps her stuff clean." She sighed and shifted out of her Senshi-mode.

"You tracked it using Dan's system?" Sarah asked as she looked around the forest. Ranma's garden was just behind them.

"Nope! I used that," Ranma said pointing to a newly-planted rosebush that was on the side of the garden closest to them.

"A plant?"

"Yup!"

"That came from Mom's rosebush, and I'm sure your magic did something to it."

"Erika gave me the idea. I formed a link to Mom's rosebush when I first found it. I did the same to the new plants I started from Mom's."

"And you added sensors to them?"

"After Erika suggested it. At first I just had them send me information about sunlight, water, and the like," Ranma said as she shifted into gardening clothes and checked on one of her plants.

"Sensors... plant?"

"Yes. Good job," Ranma said patting the rosebush. "Makes sense. You can add magic code to life-forms and plants are alive."

Sarah looked over the rosebush. "And Dan's system didn't pick up on it?"

"Nope. You're right. I am watching the feed from that network," Ranma said as she started looking over the other rosebushes.

"If your flowers work like that we could use them all over there. Make a new sensor net with them."

"You want me to plant more of these?" Ranma beamed.

"Yes, these freaky plants seem useful. Hmm... Calash in plants. Guess that makes sense."

"It'll take a while to plant enough to make a grid, and even then..." Ranma summoned her palmtop and started making calculations using her green stylus. "Wow, that's a lot."

"Will it require too many roses?" Sarah asked.

"There's no such thing as too many roses," Ranma corrected. She tapped the stylus to her lips. "Though, it's still just a passive system." She started writing a new series of notes and designs.

* * *

"You know you're either brilliant or insane, right?" Erika asked her sister.

"It was your idea to use rose plants as sensors." Ranma sat next to a little rosebush. She looked over the bush and gave it an affectionate pat. This bush even had a couple of flower buds that were just about ready to bloom.

"At least they're growing well, but I guess you'd be good at raising them, Princess Rose," Erika smiled.

Ranma shrugged. "Sarah's sensor project almost delayed my gardening. Okay, let's get this done."

"Right," Erika said. "Your plan is to pump magic using the organic tech into the rosebush?"

"Yes, hopefully the rose will respond and adapt to meet my requirements."

"That's what organic tech is supposed to do," Erika nodded.

"Starting now," Ranma said as she stood up. She closed her eyes and shifted into her princess form.

"Getting formally dressed for this?" Erika smiled.

"My princess form is better adapted for this type of magic."

"Isn't this your default? You were reborn dressed like this."

"Yes it is," Ranma agreed. "And my Senshi one has wings and is better for purification and combat. I mean, I can't kick wearing this," Ranma laughed as she pointed to her gown's ankle-length skirt.

"Okay, so you think you need to channel this much power..."

"If I was going for raw power I'd be in senshi form. No, this requires finesse, not blasting holes in things," Ranma said as she summoned her wand.

The princess pointed the magical focus and poured her energy. The rosebush glowed green as the magic started to alter it. One of the buds started to expand in size and pulse with white energy.  
It eventually started to peel open, revealing a few petals encasing something... something delicate, green, winged, and possessing antennae.

"Wow..." Erika gasped noting the contents of the flower. "That's one way to get the mobility requirement satisfied."

"Yup," Ranma smiled. "Let's activate it and start testing."

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Allison asked as she watched a small creature flutter into the living room.

"It's a fairy, honey," Dan said from his position slumped on the couch. "Tiny girl with antennae and dragonfly wings. Dead giveaway," he then rolled over.

"I know what it looks like! But it can't be that! Everyone knows that fairies went extinct during the industrial revolution."

"Since it's wearing a tiny little skirt made of rose petals and a bikini top from the same material. I think that narrows down where it came from," Dan said still, laying on the couch.

"Erika's over today isn't she?"

Dan nodded.

Allison stood up, eyed the flying little green-skinned... girl and walked to the back door and opened it. "What's with the funny little golem?" the blonde shouted in the direction of the garden.

She turned around and found the fairy flying just in front of her face. "Least you're a cute little thing. Man... Princess is making dolls now." She noticed the fairy's expression change. "Don't frown at me... hey cool. Wonder what else you can do?"

"She's not a golem," Ranma said as she and Erika slowly walked up onto the back porch and into the kitchen. She had her palmtop out and was making notes with her stylus.

"You don't dress like that in your garden. Usually your fancy dress is for when you're reading your plant books or when you're doing magic stuff."

"I did just make that." Ranma pointed to the fairy who was currently examining Allison's hair.

"Yeah, it's a cute little golem," Allison said as she looked over the fairy who now had changed from having deep emerald green hair to blonde.

"She's not a golem," Erika repeated. "She was made from a rosebud."

"Fine, a plant golem. Still very cool. She's very expressive," Allison then stuck her tongue out at the fairy and was pleased when it copied the move.

"She's got an organic AI in her," Erika said.

"Uh... why? Is there a need for that? I mean what does she do."

"An excellent question. Ichi, please come over here." Ranma beckoned the fairy over.

"Yes princess," the fairy said in a high-cute voice. She flew over to the redhead.

"Cool, she talks," Dan said after walking into the room, half of his face red from lying on the couch.

"Of course she does. Ichi here is my latest security system. I wanted something that was more mobile than my rose bushes and could react a bit if need be, so I put the requirements into a plant and had my magic work on the problem, and this is what it came up with."

Ichi bowed in midair.

Ranma pulled out her stylus and started pointing to various parts on the four inch tall fairy. First were the antenna. "She's got the same sensor and communications abilities as my stationary roses. She's strong relatively speaking, so she can pick up things. Wings, of course, are her main locomotion. She can photosynthesize, but she still needs water and other nutrients. If you'll notice the bracers she's wearing: she packs a bit of a wallop. Nothing that can be used offensively, but for defensive work it's good enough. They're also good for clearing weeds and brush. Which is good for her gardening use."

"She gardens too? Why am I not surprised?" Allison sighed.

"Why wouldn't she? She's gonna be out in the garden most of the time any way, except when she's powered down recharging in one their special rose bushes."

"Why a fairy? I mean a big dragonfly or something would have done the job," Dan inquired.

"Because they're cute," Ranma smiled.

"So, why's it bugging me then?" Allison asked as she looked at the blonde fairy.

"She's curious. Side effect of their sensor nature. You should be glad I wanted them stealthy too. Otherwise she'd be a chatterbox, wouldn't you, Ichi?"

"I suppose so, Princess," Ichi said after pausing to think.

"So she's got an AI because the tasks you wanted her to do needed to be learned?" Dan asked.

"That and it's easier to have something that can learn how to weed than for me to have to program it in manually."

"She's very flexible and has a lot of capability to learn things," Erika nodded in approval.

Ichi smiled at the praise.

"She's now wearing what I am!" Allison said as she examined the little fairy.

"Talk to her about it then," Ranma dismissed.

"So, why are you copying me?"

Ichi paused to think. "You're very interesting," she finally responded

"Oooo... Princess, I like her!" Allison exclaimed.

"So how smart is she?" Dan asked.

Ranma shrugged. "Right now she's got enough mental power to do what she needs to do, but she is designed to learn more."

"Okay! What the hell is that?" Sarah demanded as she walked into the kitchen.

Ranma sighed as she gave her explanation again.

"Oh... that makes sense..." Sarah looked over the fairy. "So am I the only one who picked up that her name means one in Japanese?"

"You're going to make more aren't you?" Dan asked.

"Just enough to help in the garden and patrol in shifts," Ranma said as she looked down at her gown.

"Wonderful, our house is guarded by rosebushes and fairies," Sarah dryly remarked.

"They did put my system to shame," Dan pointed out.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Ranma asked as she came in from gardening and training. She was currently wearing her "Wild Rose" gi.

"My sex changing thing is just a copy of yours." Dan said as he looked around to see if that fairy had followed Ranma in. He was still a bit weirded out by the thing. Yesterday evening, he had even had a little chat with the fairy, who struck him as very inquisitive but shy.

"But it's not complete and has to be reinstalled every week," Dan continued. "I was wondering if you could help with that."

"You like being a girl, don't you." Ranma shifted into a blouse and skirt.

Dan shrugged. "Meh, I don't mind it, but Allison really likes it. You saw how she got at that cute Goth thing."

Ranma smiled. "Okay, I'll help you. Shift into girl-form."

"Done," Dan said once she had turned female.

Ranma's finger glowed as she poked Dan in the forehead.

"Ow!" Dan complained. "What the? You didn't just get taller did you?" Her gaze then went downward. "Oh my..." Dan said as she looked at her enlarged assets. "Why the hell am I so short?"

"No I idea. I ended up shorter too. All I did was make your body real. More effective than that previous copy curse you were using." The redhead then smiled playfully. "Oh Allison! Someone wants to see you!" Ranma shouted.

"I like," Allison purred as she entered the kitchen. "Thanks, Princess," she said as she picked up Dan, who was now a few inches shorter than Allison, and carried her out of the room.

Ranma then turned to face a small fluttering figure behind her. "Yes, Ichi?" she calmly asked. If it was an emergency the fairy would have communicated directly with her mind.

"I found a rosebush that would make a great candidate, princess. It's very healthy," Ichi said, almost shyly, as she transmitted the location and some information about the plant

"I suppose you're getting lonely. Have you finished your gardening?"

The fairy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Planting those roses for the South end was a bit of a challenge, but I figured it out," she said proudly.

Ranma smiled. Ichi was doing very well. Even on difficult, open ended tasks. She would cautiously keep trying things, until something worked. "Very well. Let's make you a friend," Ranma walked back outside with the exuberant fairy.

The redhead laughed at the glee Ichi had. It was another positive sign. Ranma was very curious as to how a pair of fairies interacted to solve problems as a team. She would tell Dan about her proposed upgrades for the terminator template later. Allison and Dan would be busy for a while.

* * *

"Where's your little friend?" Dan asked as she walked out to the back porch. "Doesn't she normally read over your shoulder?"

"Ichi's teaching Ni how to weed," Ranma said not looking up from the gardening book she checked out of the school library. She was sitting in one of the reclining chairs that gave a partial view of her garden.

"Ni? You made another one. Took you long enough," Dan shrugged.

"I wanted to make sure Ichi was working out, and I had to wait for another new bush to get healthy enough," Ranma said as she turned to a new page.

"Why aren't you there with them?"

"I'm seeing how well Ni can learn and if Ichi is capable enough to teach."

"Oh, I see. So why are you reading the actual book? Can't you just flip through it scan every page and read it later at a high speed?"

Ranma closed her book and folded her hands in her lap over it. "I like the topic and I want to absorb everything I can. So, I'm going slow."

"Fair enough." Dan eyed the long gown the girl was wearing. "But why are you in your princess dress?"

"I'm relaxing," Ranma said as she looked at her book.

"Hmmmm?"

"When I relax all the way, I go into my default mode," Ranma said as she looked at the line of roses that spiraled up her dress. It also helped that she really enjoyed her dress. She had taken the time to design it and all the accompanying accessories.

"Oh... I see. I guess I'll let you read in peace."

"Sorry." Ranma apologized, and looked at Dan. "So did Allison like the new Dianna?"

Dan coughed. "Well... she got pissed when she tried to play dress up and her bras wouldn't fit me." He grinned. "But I got her over it."

"Glad to help," Ranma laughed. She shifted into a rose-accented blouse and green skirt and summoned her laptop.

"Done relaxing?"

"Well, since you're here, I have a few ideas for your template."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?"

"Yes, remember that third Terminator movie?"

"It sucked, so? Just last week we watched it and made fun of it."

"That's what gave me the idea," Ranma smiled as she pulled up a few files.

Dan studied the schematics and nodded approvingly. "Just one issue. Does it have to be a girl terminator?"

"You're not more concerned about the nanotechnology I've suggested?"

Dan shrugged. "Not really. It's not like even you could pull that off."

"Oh, a challenge!"

* * *

"Are you sure you should be doing this, Ichi?" Ni asked as she flew through the forest on patrol. The communication was through the connection they shared.

"Of course, Princess Rose made us to follow her orders, observe, and learn," Ichi transmitted to the other fairy. She turned back to watching her princess train.

"I suppose so. You do have no current tasks to complete," Ni relented as she scanned the woods.

"You're just jealous that I'm free to watch her," Ichi teased. She had recently learned of the concept and it intrigued her. The fairy then smiled as she watched her creator leap up, rebound off of a tree trunk, flip in midair, tumble to the ground and stick a perfect landing before seamlessly transitioning into her next move.

"Hey! I'm just gonna see it tonight when we sync up our memories," Ni shrugged as she investigated an unusual spike in the ambient magic field. It was just an outcropping of rocks that seemed to churn the energy immediately surrounding it.

The fairy flew around the rock a few times studying it. She then resumed her patrol marking that as something to return to when she had free time.

"Oh... nice anomaly. That's a good trade," Ichi smiled as she resumed watching Rose train.

Ranma smiled as she listened to the fairies chatter. They were really starting to grow on her. As she practiced a series of mid-air kicks she made a mental note to make a third one when a rosebush got strong enough. They seemed to do so much better when in a team.

The redhead flipped around and bounced off another tree, causing the nearby fairy to yelp and dart out of the way. When she landed on the ground she was just in front of her sister, Sarah.

"Don't scare the fairies," Sarah teased. She then looked around the area of the forest. "Odd place to practice."

"The range was too bland. Now that I don't have to worry about being watched by the hacker girl I can cut loose a bit more," Ranma laughed.

"But, this is your garden..."

"So?"

"Flowers and martial arts don't mix."

"Really now," Ranma drawled as she narrowed her eyes. "I am making a dojo as well as a garden. If you can't tell the difference between the garden and the dojo then I'm doing a good job. Wild Rose school can't be taught in a normal hall after all."

"Just seems like you'd damage your plants," Sarah defended.

"Don't worry I've got it worked out," Ranma said as she summoned her palmtop and displayed a map on it. "See, the rosebushes are on the edges of the really heavy training areas which are bordered with grass. The more moderate stuff is mixed with the gardens and accessed by paths."

"Are those a bunch of vertical bamboo poles inside a huge rose patch?" Sarah said examining the notations on the map.

"It's for balance training."

"You want people jumping over rose plants?"

"It'll be very pretty. Besides, my roses can handle it."

"But thorns!"

"I told you. It's for balance training," Ranma smiled. "Of course Mom's rosebush is in the center right in what will be the mediation area."

Her face brightened as she used her stylus to alter the map. "That's what it was missing! I'll put a big koi pond right there. There's a natural basin right in that part of the western spur."

"Koi pond?"

"Yeah, there was one back at the Tendo's, it was great. Very good for training." Ranma looked at the map and sighed.

"What's wrong? Your plans too complicated?"

"No, that's just a matter of time," Ranma smiled weakly and made her palmtop appear.

"The Nerima thing? Don't worry about them," Sarah said as she put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Even if they did come here you could handle them, not like they'll even get here."

"I'm not worried about that, Sis," Ranma sighed. "It's hard to explain. Maybe it's that I have time to think about something other than getting free of the template. Maybe it's my transformation, but I'm kind of regretting how I left them."

"You can't undo what you did. Besides, you did fine," Sarah reassured.

"I guess so. I'm a little bit curious what happened to them though."

* * *

"How humiliating," Nabiki sighed as she looked around the airport terminal. A seeming phalanx of angry and heavily-armed policemen watched them.

"You're humiliated?" Akane shouted. "At lest you're not handcuffed!" She raised her hands a few inches showing that she was wearing two pairs of cuffs. One to secure her hands to each other and one to secure her hand to the armrest of the chair.

"You know I can rip this chair out of the floor?" Akane shouted to the tall police lieutenant.

Nabiki dropped her head into her hands. This had started out as such a good idea. She had gotten Kuno to fund this whole trip, and things had gone well. Sure every lead on Ranma eventually led to a dead end, but it was still a free vacation. They even got a few rumors that someone matching Ranma's description had moved further south. Then cops showed up.

"Miss, please don't force us to secure you further," stated Lieutenant Ray Walter, one very exasperated policeman, through a translator.

"I can't believe it ended this way," Cologne sighed from her seat further down the line.

"Great-grandmother, why can't we go?" Shampoo asked in her native language. She was cuffed much like Akane was.

"Silence. You will obey me or I'll subdue you myself!" Cologne reprimanded. She sighed. At least Mousse was back in Nerima minding the shop. That was one less problem to deal with.

"Can you please stick to languages I understand?" the translator requested.

"This does seem a bit odd. We didn't do anything wrong," Akane grumbled.

"Tell that to the six Seattle SWAT officers that got injured, that's a quarter of our force. You can see that the rest have to baby-sit you guys. You folks are very lucky things didn't escalate."

"Tatewaki and his sister are drugged up!" Akane shouted.

"He's still under from the surgery. The doctors were amazed at how much trauma he could take."

"You didn't have to electrocute him," Akane muttered.

"He did come at officers with a sword,"

"It was wooden," Nabiki noted.

"Big factor why he's still alive. He's lucky they got a chance to hit him with stun guns. If he'd charged us with live steel, we would have been forced to shoot him."

"You still beat him with clubs," Nabiki smiled. That was an amusing sight.

"We got him to drop his weapon but he was still a threat," Walter shrugged. "As for his sister, she was drugged up from exposure to her own chemicals. Chemicals that are quite illegal, I might add."

"You guys did burst into our hotel room guns drawn." Nabiki stated. "It's our fault you morons got the address wrong? I guess American police really are overzealous thugs."

"Ma'am, nothing would have happened if your friends had not resisted us," Lieutenant Walter explained. "Instead we got three women attacking us and one sword wielding loon."

"I still can't believe Kodachi drugged herself," Akane murmured.

"It's not like her potions can go through a gasmask," Nabiki stated.

What disturbed Walter the most was how lucky his men had gotten. One of the girls had disabled herself. Another was ordered to stand down by the old woman. The last had fought but was held back a bit by her older sister. That left the sword-guy. Even he was a huge problem to bring down.

"Yes... a lovely cloud of toxic chemicals. That was a great addition to the situation." Walter removed his sunglasses. "If it were up to me, I'd have you girls charged with everything we've got. But the district attorney wants this situation quieted up."

"It _would_ look bad in the papers. A bunch of cops raiding and beating Japanese tourists, most of whom are schoolgirls," Nabiki smirked.

"That's the DA's opinion of things." Walter nodded. Cologne and Shampoo were Chinese, but the news media would not bother to make that distinction.

"So you're just going to kick us out of the country?" Cologne asked, in English.

"Yes, the six of you are to board that plane and return to Japan," Walter stated.

"Great Grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

"Yes, we will find him, but on our own," Cologne reassured, in their local dialect of Chinese. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the others. "Without all this baggage."

Walter looked at the translator who shrugged. He sighed. This old woman was troublesome. She seemed way too accommodating. "Are you going to take this deal?" he asked, some hope entering his voice. Once they were on the plane they would no longer be his problem.

"We don't have any choice. This trip's been fun, but I want to go home," Nabiki stated.

"I don't think Ranma's even in this city, at least not anymore. That creepy little freak probably lied to you, Sis." Akane said as she tugged on her handcuffs.

"Yes. It's looking more and more like a wild goose chase. Something to waste our time," Nabiki growled. It seemed that Hikaru had gotten the last laugh on her.

"We spent over two weeks looking for him here, and there was no real sign of him," Cologne sighed. Ranma was somewhere in this country but not in this city.

Shampoo looked at the floor. She had tracked Ranma before, she would track him down again.

"We were done here anyway," Cologne said.

Walter looked to the two unconscious Kunos and smiled. "That's very good. Your flight boards in ten minutes. I trust you folks can stay calm until then."

* * *

"What did you do?" Ranma asked as she looked up from the rosebush that she was tending. It had just started to flower and she was inspecting the petals.

"I just changed a couple numbers in a police database," Gos explained with a sigh. "You sure we can't talk inside?"

"So it's gonna start to rain," Ranma shrugged. She was rather fond of the feeling of wet soil between her toes.

"I don't like the rain."

"Spoilsport." Ranma got up and dusted her hands on her shorts. She mentally checked to make sure Ichi and Ni knew about the coming precipitation and were ready for it. "So, you altered the dispatch of a SWAT team? Sounds dangerous," she said as they walked back to the house.

"Well I knew that the criminals weren't in the original location of the raid. They wouldn't have met them anyway. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. It was in their hotel suite. Was quite nice, it had several adjoining rooms and a balcony. All I had do to was change the room number, and alter the hotel's records a bit," Gos explained. "I have been keeping tabs on their entire little Seattle adventure

"Still... having cops smash into that group," Ranma shook her head. "At least no one important got hurt."

"What's wrong Ranma? I thought you'd be happy. They'll have a really hard time getting back into the States. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"I guess." The redhead tugged at her hair bow.

Gos rolled his eyes. "Look, it's their own fault they got kicked out. If they'd have just kept their cool they'd still be free to roam the countryside looking for you. It was their own nature that got them in trouble."

"You still took advantage of them. I didn't want them hurt."

"And, discounting Kuno, you got that. Personally, I'm kinda disappointed." Gos glared. "Don't get soft on me, Princess. You gave me permission to do this little scheme. You're so concerned about those people you can deal with them if you want. You clearly find my methods unacceptable."

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was such a sensitive thing with you," Ranma placated.

"I didn't offer to do this just because I owed you. I did it for myself too."

Erika's projection suddenly appeared. "I'm sorry sis, but I have to agree with Gos. You do know that Tatewaki hurt six men during that night. Two of them seriously. Also remember that they were coming to take you back by force." She sighed. "Sis, you've got a big heart... but..." She paused there was no delicate way to put this. "You're still thinking fast, not smart."

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma sighed. "I know, alone some of them are pretty okay. Not the guys or Kodachi, but the girls: Ukyou, Akane, Kasumi, Shampoo, even Nabiki. However, get them in a group..."

"I told you earlier that was just how they would act," Gos stated. "And if they did that near you and your family? You know what Sarah, Dan, and Allison are like. They would waste those guys without hesitating. I did them a favor by just sending SWAT after them."

"They would do anything to protect me, wouldn't they?" Ranma blinked.

"Yeah, congratulations, you've got a great family," Gos deadpanned.

"Look at it this way, too. Maybe those nimrods learned something from this. That there's consequences to their actions," Erika interjected.

"One can only hope," Gos grumbled.

Ranma's face brightened. She knew she should not get her hopes up, but a little cautious optimism helped. Either way, the world's largest ocean was once again between them and her.

"Look, it's over with." Erika said before swapping Gos for the solid body. "And next time they start sniffing around for you, you handle it, Sis," she offered wrapping an arm around her.

"You're powerful enough to take care of them as you see fit," Gos agreed.

"Thanks guys," Ranma said as she hugged Erika.

"Sorry to interrupt your hug-fest. but unless you want to get soaked..." Sarah said from the back porch.

"No! Let them stay out! Wet T-shirt contest!" Allison teased from next to the redhead.

"I wear bras now, you know!" Ranma shouted back.

"No fun," Allison mock-pouted. "Good thing I've got my Diana!"

"What was that about having a great family?" Ranma asked Gos.

"Well..."

"Come to think of it, you're a part of it too," Ranma smiled as they walked up the steps onto the porch.

"I am?"

"Erika's my sister and you're her boyfriend."

"Yeah, that works," Allison nodded. "I mean, I'm a part of the family."

"Yes. Yes, you are," Sarah theatrically-sighed.

"Maybe they should move in then? Allison did." Dan suggested "We do have a spare room."

"You mean the guest room that Allison supposedly uses?" Sarah asked.

"It would save on asking people to give us lifts..." Gos noted.

"You're over here enough anyway." Sarah noted.

"And we can move out of that horrible apartment!" Erika cried.

"Sean's a good friend of mine. He was the one that gave me my first I/O sphere," Gos said as he walked into the house with the rest of them.

"His apartment's still small and stinky," Erika said while scrunching up her nose.

"The bedrooms here _are_ larger." Gos paused to think.

"It's not our choice," Sarah reminded them.

"Fine, I'll call," Ranma said she flipped her hand and a white cell-phone with green lettering appeared in her hand. Leaning on the kitchen counter she typed the number to the Lockridge police station.

"We do have a landline," Sarah noted.

"Ranma's always been a show off," Gos said.

"Hi! Dad! I'm good. Thanks for asking. How are you doing? Awww... sorry to hear that. I hope your deputy feels better soon. You work too much with just your own stuff, Dad. Say... I was wondering. You know Gos and Erika? Yes they're the couple that shares a body. Uh huh. Well they're looking for a better place to stay. Oh... well what about Dan's room?"

From his office, Jack O'Neil, looked out his window into the pouring rain and sighed. "Sorry Ranma, there's no way Allison's parents would let her live in the same room as her boyfriend. Maybe if she is bunking with her girlfriend... well. I might be able to talk them into it."

Ranma blinked. "That's very silly sounding."

"Allison's parents insisted on them having separate bedrooms even though that doesn't stop anything," Jack explained.

"Okay, I'll tell them, thanks Dad!" Ranma said before hanging up. She then explained the conditions to her family.

"Why does everything around me seem to do it's best to make me stay a girl?" Dan shook his head.

"Hey, I know how you feel man," Ranma sympathized.

He looked over to see the redhead had shifted into a red dress with a green vine pattern "That's not helping Ran-man," he sighed

"Like you'd be spending any less time as a guy in bed," Allison snorted. "Have you forgotten how well things work now that Princess has improved your girl-side?"

"That's more information than I needed to hear," Sarah said as she walked out of the room.

"Come on, Erika. Let's talk about your template," Ranma said, while grabbing her other sister's hand and leading her upstairs.

"You have an idea for a battle template for me?" Erika asked, once they were in Ranma and Sarah's room.

"Take it. Sis really has a knack for improvements and upgrades," Sarah said from her lower bunk. Her laptop was out and she was working on her own template.

"Thanks," Ranma blushed. "I have to get more data from my fairies. Preferably, with twice the number I have," Ranma said as she mentally requested Ichi to come to her.

Erika smiled.

"I _knew_ there was more to them than just sensors, gardening and curious chit chat!" Sarah grinned.

"It's no coincidence that they use the same type of organic programming as Erika and I. Observing how they grow and develop has been very informative," Ranma admitted as her laptop appeared.

"Like flying lab rats?"

"I'm here, Princess," Ichi bowed after flying into the room. She then turned to Sarah. "I suppose that's correct Sarah-san, but data collection is critical to advancement. If Princess Rose can learn from me while I complete my tasks I'm serving her on two levels."

"My, she's getting bolder," Sarah noted. "Now how did you get into the house?"

Ichi blushed, causing her green skin to darken to match her hair. "It was a very interesting problem to solve. I had the strength to turn the knob but not the leverage," the fairy said as she flew over to see what Sarah was working on.

"Ichi here is a good demonstration," Ranma said waving her hand at the fairy that was studying Sarah's armor designs.

"Wouldn't Ni be just as good? I mean, their memories are synced up every night. Clever way to build their experiences and capabilities, Sis," Sarah said.

"I didn't come up with it. It's how Ichi taught Ni. She was the one that came up with it."

"Wow, nice going Ichi," Erika complimented.

"Thank you Erika-san. It was the most efficient way to teach her," Ichi blushed, her skin turning a darker green.

"I was using her as an example for the application of living magic on a living host."

"So she's practice?"

"For bigger things," Ranma smiled.

"Still it's a long way from roses to humans," Erika said.

"Oh... that's what you're planning for Erika's template," Sarah's eyes widened in realization.

"Did you expect anything else from me? I'm a princess who's a Sailor Senshi."

Erika nodded. "I really like the irony. I mean, I'm one of Gos' creations - makes sense I'd wear one of his other ones."

"You know there is one really good upside to this. This won't make anymore roses." Sarah joked.

"You're right. Can't have two Sailor Roses," Ranma nodded.

* * *

"Just watch," Ranma told her father as she powered up her wand.

"It's gonna be that bush then?" Jack asked pointing to the little rosebush.

"It's been growing very well." The gown wearing girl nodded as she closed her eyes and enveloped the plant in her energy. The plant glowed green as one of its flower buds started to grow in size.

The lawman watched the transformation intently. Soon the flower opened and a fairy, identical to the other two emerged. The tiny green woman stretched and flexed her wings. She then flew up to face her princess and bowed.

"San, please go find Ni and sync with her."

"Yes, Princess," the fairy said before flying off.

"Once she does that she'll know everything they know?" O'Neil asked. "Impressive."

"Thanks, Dad!" Ranma beamed as she led her father down a pathway. "I'll show you how helpful they've been!"

As the two slowly weaved their way through the garden, Ranma explained the things she had done. Jack smiled at how his daughter was carrying herself. Using the official plant names and other technical terms, she was even still wearing her princess clothing. "Daughter, how can you walk in heels like that on rough ground? That long dress can't help either."

"It's just training. Balance for martial arts, and deportment for being a princess," Ranma shrugged and went back to explaining the stones she was thinking of using for the rock garden section.

"I know Genma gave you an incredible amount of martial arts training, but when did you go through princess training?"

"Ever since my transformation I've been researching and training in how I should act," Ranma admitted.

"Fair enough. So, all these roses came from Nodoka's bush?" Jack asked, amazed at what the girl could do in just under a week. He could see what had to be at least a hundred plants. Only a few of them were flowering, and among those he could see a variety of colors.

Ranma smiled. "Yes, some are now fourth generation plants from Mother's. Only the first batch of second gens, those that are cuttings from Mom's plant itself, are clones. The rest as you can see have been altered. I can't wait until they start to seed. Then I can have some real fun with that group of plants."

"Wow. You're doing great here." Jack then looked to see that all three fairies flying around a running hose. "Aww... looks like it got away from them. I think watering may be too much for them."

"Wait, Dad," Ranma said with a slight smile.

He then watched as San fired red beams into the water pouring out of the hose. The steam was then hit with a green beam fired by the Ichi and coalesced into a cloud that while small was many, many times larger than her.

She then flew off with the cloud tethered to her by that same green beam. Ni fairy then made another cloud and flew off with it. San then flew over to the hose faucet and turned off the flow.

"They're watering with clouds?"

"Yup! According to them, they're surprisingly easy to make with magic. This is another reason why I'm working on that pond. A big pool of water near the center of the garden will really help watering," Ranma said.

"You girls never cease to amaze me," Jack smiled as he put his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "First Sarah showing off that new template of hers this morning at the range and now this... garden."

Ranma sighed happily as she leaned onto him. "Really? Sarah's done? That's great!"

Jack nodded. "I wonder how they came up with that idea."

"We'll ask them," Ranma said as she called San over to them.

"Yes, Princess, Sheriff O'Neil?" San bowed.

"That's the fairy you just made?" Jack asked. Unless they were copying someone's hair or clothing the fairies were all identical.

"Yes."

"And she's already gotten all the information from the other two. Again, amazing." He turned to the expectant fairy. "So what gave you the idea to water the plants that way?"

"When asked to water we researched it in an encyclopedia the princess had in her memory. We learned that plants normally get their water from rain. So we looked up rain. Rain is water vapor condensed into clouds in the air. We then found that by heating water past the boiling point you get water vapor.

"It took a few tries, but eventually we managed to get controllable cloud formation. Thank you for creating me, by the way. Ichi believes that a third fairy was helpful in our success."

"That's a roundabout way of doing it. Very clever," Jack congratulated the fairy.

"Thank you." San blushed. "Princess, is that all?"

"Yes, you may go," Ranma said.

San bowed again and flew off.

"I've got one more thing to show you," Ranma said as she shifted her clothing. "You've seen the magical and gardening sides of Wild Rose school. Now for its martial side," she said wearing her gi.

Ranma stretched slightly before leaping into the air, she then twisted and bounced off a tree branch before firing at a small ki-ball at a vertical target log. She bounded off the ground and then landed on top of the same log.

Jack nodded and watched as his daughter continued her routine. She kept firing at various target logs from contorted midair positions. Jack strongly suspected Sarah had mentioned to Ranma that she had finally beaten him in a target shoot.

Eventually Ranma finished her display and landed in font of her father. "What do you think, Dad?" She asked a

"Again, you're amazing. So this garden really will be a training ground," Jack nodded.

"Thanks!" Ranma gushed.

"Well, let's see how the others are doing. Dan seems to be taking the new sleeping arrangements well," Jack noted as they walked back to the house.

"It's not a big change for him, really. I'm glad that Allison's parents were okay with it though."

* * *

"Thanks for letting us use your truck," Gos said as he loaded a box into the back of the black Suburban.

"No problem," Dan said as he put another box in.

"I just wish Sean could have helped, but he's at his mother's until Sunday," Gos explained.

"What kind of paint job is that?" Erika asked, standing next to Ranma.

"Creepy, moving black stuff," Ranma, who was wearing a blouse and matching skirt, shrugged

"How much stuff did you two have? You moved here after Ran-man," Dan asked as he and Gos went back into the apartment.

"Erika's a girl, and we ordered more equipment when we moved in," Gos shrugged.

"Gos is right about that. If I didn't have magical clothes..." Ranma shook her head as she and Erika followed the guys.

"That's because you like to try every possible combination of various shades of red, white, and green combined with different ways of adding roses," Erika countered.

Ranma blushed.

"Maybe you should get some new colors Ran-man," Dan suggested as he picked up a pair of flat-panel monitors.

"Roses do come in more colors than red," Gos reminded. He then pointed at a box.

"Yeah, it might surprise you but I know all the colors roses come in," Ranma glared.

"Then wear something else. There are black roses," Gos smiled darkly.

"No, just no," Ranma shuddered in revulsion. "I'll try some other colors."

"Blue would look good on you," Erika added.

"We can talk after we get the truck loaded," Dan suggested.

"Yeah, that would," Ranma admitted before carrying a box to the car.

* * *

Sheriff O'Neil looked around the town hall conference room. It was surprisingly dark for a government room. Seated before him in at a trio of tables formed into a U shape were the Townfathers. This was the collection of men and women who ran Lockridge. Only half of them were members of the town government in any official way. The rest were important in other capacities. He had just finished his weekly briefing. It was all the standard minutia of policing a small town.

"Oh, I heard you've adopted your wife's first child," Mayor Kenneth Loren said, almost causally, from the head of the U, directly opposite the lawman. Loren looked respectable without being too dapper. Critical for being a small town mayor. His slicked-back thinning white hair and plain face helped with that.

"Yes, I did," Jack O'Neil said.

The other Townfathers muttered briefly. "Is it true about her nature?" Alden Jefferson of the utility department asked.

"She does have some very advanced Calash in her, yes," Jack allowed.

"You can vouch for her stability, I assume," Loren stated. He was now looking critically at the lawman.

"Of course. She's my daughter. I am responsible for her," Jack casually shrugged.

"Good," Loren smiled, his face taking an amused cast. "If only more parents around here took responsibility for their children," he said as he looked at the assembled Townfathers.

"It is rumored that her... condition is due to the actions of another. There's no chance of things becoming... explosive between your daughter and her rival?" the man next to Jefferson asked.

"That would entirely be up to Ranma's rival. She is the one that has been antagonizing, not just Ranma, but my entire family," Jack sternly stated.

"We are in a risky situation. More advanced Calash use is encouraged, but this risks more attention being brought to us," Loren moderated.

Jack stood still. He had some idea what the Townfathers were planning. For one, it had a long timetable and was only just now reaching the halfway point.

"We should not overly concern ourselves with these children. You all remember what it was like when we were young," Richard Stockworth who sat across from Jefferson smiled in remembrance. He was the head of the Lockridge branch of Rotary International.

"Yes, there are larger organizations that threaten us," Jefferson remarked.

Loren shot a glare at Jefferson before turning to O'Neil. "Always a pleasure, Jack. Best of luck with your family," the mayor smiled.

"Thank you sir. If you have nothing else I'll be going now," O'Neil said picking up the cue to leave. He turned and left the room.

"You're still concerned with Winston's plans?" Stockworth almost smiled. "The man is a businessman. His interest is purely economical. Revealing Calash does not profit him."

"Only because he understands the risks of what would happen to his company if he went public with it," Jefferson smiled darkly. "That's the risk you take when you run a family business. It makes you very susceptible to... leverage."

"I don't believe it will come down to that. Robert Winston knows how to play ball. He doesn't even live in Lockridge anymore," Loren shrugged. "Besides... I think this new 'Princess' will prove to be a large concern for us."

"I doubt she'd try a coup." Stockworth laughed.

"There's no need. She's young and connected." Loren smiled. "Don't be surprised if in ten years she's sitting at this table."

The Townfathers looked amongst themselves.

"You really believe she's that powerful?" Alice Franklin, superintended of the town schools asked.

Stockworth nodded. "She has the potential, and if she really does think of herself as a princess..."

"Then political ascension is something she'll want to do." Lorenz completed.

"So she might see Lockridge as her private magic kingdom?" Jefferson grumbled.

"I wouldn't worry about her," Loren dismissed. "In fact, I see this situation as potentially quite useful. She even knows that Ned Winston fellow."

"We should keep an eye on her. If she shows as much promise as you suggest, then we could have her be an asset to us," Alice proposed.

"Perhaps, but it's too early for us to make a move," Loren cautioned. "We have to be sure of what's going on. A little bit more patience can't hurt."

* * *

"You sure about this?" Sailor Rose asked Sarah as she ran a hand over the runes on one of her bracers. The two redheads were on the range and were both in combat mode.

"We've tested my shield with all sorts of weapons over a dummy target until it failed," the armor-clad girl sighed. "But sometime we have to test it when it's on me. You did design this system!"

"That is true," Rose agreed.

"Just remember no wand. When you get with that wand scary things happen," Sarah said as she looked to see a fairy watching them. The tiny-green girl smiled and shifted her hairstyle to match Sarah's.

"I've only made four so far," Rose said.

"And how many do you plan to make?"

"Not too many. Two more should be able to cover the garden duty and patrolling the grounds nicely."

"Half a dozen? Okay," Sarah shrugged. "Guess you really are a fairy princess."

Sailor Rose pouted slightly.

"You're the one that decided to make them with fairy bodies instead of something else," Sarah laughed.

"You're right." Rose then smiled as her bracers started to glow. "I suggest you power up your shields now. You wouldn't want to get your pretty new armor scratched."

"That's the spirit," Sarah said as she activated her shields. A slight blue shimmer bubbled around her.

"Okay, Sis," Sailor Rose said as she powered up her bracers. A pair of thick beams lanced out of her hands and struck the shield. Part of the beams diffused into the shield but the majority reflected off of it. Rose stopped the beams and gave the thumbs up to her sister.

"That was... interesting," Sarah blinked.

"You're okay?" Sailor Rose asked.

"Yeah fine," Sarah said as she shifted out of template.

"Great! We've just got to test your new weapons then and you'll be done," Rose smiled as she pulled out her palmtop. "Hmm... still working with Dan on his stuff, and Erika's coming over soon."

"What are you doing with her now?" Sarah asked. She was not too fond of the magical girl's smile.

* * *

"I should have known this would be your idea," Gos said as he and Erika stood out in Ranma's garden.

"Erika helped," Ranma said.

"It was an interesting idea to increase the power of a template while reducing the risk," Erika said as she checked her status.

"Yes instead of a full merger like Ranma did, we just increase our bonding to a template that uses advanced organic tech. What our little princess calls living magic."

Ranma narrowed her eyes.

"It is a symbiotic bonding with some very high powered magic. We do need a combat template, Gos," Erika reminded.

"Yes and in theory it all works out," Gos grudgingly nodded. "In exchange for lower power levels the risk is reduced to a sane amount. Besides with two of us in this body a full merger would be... troublesome."

"So what's holding you back?" Erika asked.

"Clearly it's the uniform. Don't you want to see your girlfriend dressed like that?" Ranma teased. "You did make that type of uniform for me."

"Fine. Let's do it then," Gos shrugged. He then vanished as the projector generating his image shut down.

"You sure about this?" Ranma asked. "You really want to be one of my senshi?"

"Sure working with you sounds good," Erika said as she readied her programming.

"Great!" Ranma then shifted into her princess mode and pointed her wand at Erika. The white rosebud at the end opened and green and blue energy came out and enveloped Erika. It spiraled around the girl and coalesced into clothing of an expected pattern and theme. "I see you went with willow blossoms. Very pretty," Princess Rose said as her wand powered down. She would check to see if there were any willow trees nearby.

"Wow, so this is what it feels like," Sailor Willow said as she used white-gloved hands to adjust her deep blue skirt. "Are the heels really needed?"

Ranma smiled. "I'm afraid so. It's part of the uniform, just like the jewelry and bows. At least you have high-heeled boots. Besides, the uniform's not that bad."

Gos then flashed into existence. "Man... the irony of you saying that. Though I guess you like this type of fuku now." Gos looked over Erika. "You know you look just like Sailor Mercury, right?"

"You're the one that gave me blue hair," Sailor Willow reprimanded.

"And she really doesn't. Mercury did not have light green bows, nor did she have a lacy choker, with willow blossoms or anything floral really."

"So why did you pick willows?" Ranma asked after transforming back to her gardening clothes.

"Lovely flowers and trees. They get very strong and very big. Grow real easy from clippings. For a powerbase they're pretty common. Unfortunately, they only bloom for a short period too," Willow explained, before reverting back to Erika.

"That's good, given that this plant's going to be your powerbase. It's bigger because you have a tree, but it also takes longer to grow and mature," Ranma then smiled evilly. "Looks like I've got my first student."

"In?"

"Wild Rose school of course. I'll teach you how to use your powers, fight, garden, and, if I'm feeling thorough, manners and deportment."

"Well, I do need to learn how to fight, and how to plant willows," Erika sighed.

"You," Gos pointed to Ranma," can teach manners? Did that princess stuff get to you that much?"

"It was mostly a joke, though come to think of it, manners is really just learning how to control your actions in a social situation. If you really want I can come up with some training that uses it," Ranma then grabbed Erika's arm. She checked the map of plants that her fairies had composed. "Good there's a few around here. We should pick out your willow. This is the best part!"

* * *

Ned rode the elevator taking him from a subbasement to a ground level floor of his family's Teakettle Ridge facility. He then walked the corridors until he came to South Building where his apartment was. The teen would rather spend more time building in his lab, but he was too fatigued to continue. If things were not tense enough with the change in the Ranma and Rebecca situation, his great uncle Robert had paid another visit and seemed to indicate that things should be stepped up, just incase some people were to try anything against the family.

"You're not looking too well," Julie said as she came out of her own lodgings. She looked at her brother. "I guess you're skipping school again."

"It's a school day?" Ned looked at his watch. "Damn, it is!"

"Since when did you care? Oh, it's about your redheaded princess." Julie laughed.

"She's a princess?" Ned asked, leaning against the wall near his rooms.

"That's the rumor. The Terson girl calls her that, but you know how blondes are," Julie smiled. "Well, I'll see you after school."

"Yeah, school," the heir to the Winston empire said as he unlocked his door and stumbled into his room. Thoughts about Ranma would have to wait until he got some sleep.

* * *

"That sounds silly," Gos smiled as he read the name of his girlfriend's attack

"I like the alliteration," Willow said as she flexed her hands, and looked at the upright log in front of her

"Try it," Sailor Rose said from the side.

"Willow Whip!" Sailor Willow shouted. As she flicked her arms forward, a pair of thin, flexible willow branches seemed to spool out of her hands and flew towards the log. Once they touched it the branches spun around ensnaring it in coils. Willow then clenched her hands and the coils constricted, grinding into the bark and the softer wood.

"Useful in capturing things, I'll give you that," Rose nodded.

"That's only the first part," Willow smiled as she tugged on the whips, which suddenly erupted in a blue glow. The branches then spun inward biting into the log. They made steady work and eventually cut through the large log.

"A bit slow," Rose appraised.

"That was just for demonstration," Willow smiled as she dropped the two lines and summoned another glowing whip. This one she flung at the target and immediate cut out a large chunk of the log when it touched it. "It's similar to your purification energy, but more localized. It only disintegrates what it's immediately touching," Willow explained as she snapped her wrist and hit the log again, this time carving a long serpentine cut in it.

"Imaginative," Rose smiled with approval. "I'll keep this in mind with your training."

"I thought you would just have some advanced sensors," Gos shrugged.

"Well of course I have that." Willow released the energy in her whip and tried to use it to grab a piece of the log.

"Yeah, you definitely need more whip practice," Rose nodded. "Though once you master it... it will be very useful."

"That's it!" Allison said as she suddenly appeared behind Gos in a shower of quicksilver.

"Good, we were waiting for you to show up," Willow winked to Rose.

"What? Oh... advanced sensors. Damn flower girls, " Allison mumbled. "I don't care how silly the uniform is. The perks are worth it. I mean, come on, whips!"

"You," Sailor Rose said briefly raising an eyebrow. "You want to be a Sailor Senshi. Okay."

"I can still use guns and high explosives, right?"

"I don't see why not," Rose shrugged. "You'll have to wear the uniform of course, and be a floral Senshi."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't care," Allison smiled.

"This could even help cure her quicksilver madness problem," Erika proposed. Invisibility was a useful power but not at the risk of insanity.

Rose nodded. "I think we can work something out. Welcome aboard," the princess smiled.

"So where's my fuku?"

"You're going to have to help me get your mind ready, and modify your existing template. It was easier with Erika since she's more like me than a normal person, but don't worry. We can get you fighting for love and justice in no time," Sailor Rose reassured.

"I think that's a good thing." Allison blinked.

End Chapter 9

Special thanks to my prereaders PyroRaven Patrick Wray, Mondu, and Truk

As usual they've been a great help.


	10. Old Friends Made Anew Part 1

Generation Lost

A Ranma Sailor Moon fic thingy.

By Josh Temple

Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma. So here's the disclaimer

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.

Temporary Backup Site.

Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku

C&C as always is wanted.

Chapter 10 Old Friends Made Anew Part 1

"Weapons supplies."

Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

Princess Ranma Rose studied her reflection. Her ankle-length green gown was appropriate for the situation. It was dignified yet subdued and nicely complimented her hair. She briefly went over the designs for a more formal gown but filed them away.

It was still an issue of practicality to her. Her clothing, hair, and makeup were all calculated to what she considered was appropriate for the situation a young lady like herself was in. Her precisely colored lips frowned.

She did not know what troubled her more, that she had gotten used to such thoughts in her mind and had come to rely on them or that they were largely automatic and iterative in nature. She quickly blinked, causing her long eyelashes to flutter.

She was being silly. She had accepted what she was now. She _had_ to. Rose narrowed her eyes and adjusted her makeup. Her eyeshadow changed its boundaries and lightened slightly, her lipstick darkened, and her blush thinned. She huffed.

She had to accept this, but sometimes she felt like she was too shaped and sculpted. A little too perfect as if she were some pampered pet, some show horse, some precious orchid that couldn't survive out of the greenhouse, some bit of demo fluff that only exists at technology conventions. Part of her wanted to go back to her garden. Though since she was linked up with her fairies, in a way, she was already there.

"Are you ready yet?" Sailor Willow asked as she knocked on the door. "You've been in there a while.

"I haven't been in here more than a minute," Ranma replied as she made one final adjustment to her makeup.

Erika paused to adjust her seifuku. "Sis... you only need a few seconds to get ready."

"I was trying out a new algorithm," Ranma pouted as she opened the door.

"Why can't you just call it a new shade of blush like a normal girl, Princess?" Allison asked.

"Do you want to be a Floral Senshi or not?" Ranma glared.

"As long as I get to pick the flower, sure."

"You're just in it for magic whips aren't you?"

"Don't give her ideas." Dan shouted from his room.

"So... is Erika here for the ceremony? We need all the Senshi here?" Allison asked as she followed Sailor Willow and Princess Rose to the garden.

"She's here to help me," Ranma explained as she summoned her wand.

"Help?"

"You are the first -well- reasonably normal human brain that I've done this on."

Allison smiled. "I've never been called that before."

"What reasonable?"

"No, normal."

"Physically, you still have a human brain." Ranma replied as she conducted a brief status check with her fairies.

"This isn't going to screw with my brain is it?" Allison asked as she sat at a bench that faced the main rosebush.

Ranma tilted her head slightly. "Pardon?"

"I mean is it going to make me... well..."

"Into a princess?" Ranma smiled. "Look at Erika. How much did she change?"

"I've been planting saplings and watching over that willow tree just down the hill," Erika confessed.

"I also have a 'normal brain.' You told me last night that this could push me to a minor Vingean singularity. You know I was never into that transhumanist nonsense."

"Nonsense?" Ranma raised an eyebrow.

"A Vingean Singularity is what happens when the rate of change due to cybernetic intelligence, self improvement, replication, and the like becomes widely unpredictable. A primary one is one that we know is going to escape any bounds of known development," Erika explained, gesturing to the Rose Princess.

Ranma gave a somewhat embarrassed smile.

"And a minor one is what? Just the fuku not the gown?"

Ranma sighed. "It's a Sailor Seifuku. Fuku just means... never mind."

"That's great and all," Allison dismissed. "But what about my madness? The quicksilver kind," the blonde clarified.

"Oh, that. Don't worry," Ranma dismissed.

"No, Princess! I don't _like_ going insane. I'm being your experiment to cure to this defective gland in my head."

Ranma frowned. "I'm sorry, but I fixed it. I really did. It was part of the Senshi upgrade I gave you. I won't let anyone of my family lose their minds. I know what that's like," she looked down at her long green gown with its spiral of white roses. The price of sanity could be quite high, but losing control was unacceptable. "Believe me, I _know_. Dan was a huge help with it."

Allison nodded. Dan had felt responsible for his role in the original gland's design. She had explained to him that the flaw was not his fault, but...

The blonde shook her head. "It's okay, Princess. Just as long as I don't start feeling the need to wear frumpy, long dresses."

Ranma's eyebrow almost twitched. "This is hardly, frumpy."

"It is a bit much. You wear it even when you go out to the mailbox."

Ranma sighed. "At least I do some of the errands around here."

"Talking to the deliveryman is hardly an errand," Sarah said, but frowned. Normally Ranma was shy enough to not want to bother with such things.

"It is in a dress like that." Allison teased.

The princess gave a patient smile. "My dress is plenty flattering."

"Yes," Erika agreed. "That dress is giving my boyfriend a very clear view of your bottom." She was standing behind her sister, and of course, Gos could see everything Erika did.

"Nice to see you're blaming your boyfriend." Allison smirked. "Your internal boyfriend wouldn't be able to see anything unless you're the one looking at her ass."

"Uhh..." Erika blushed.

"May we proceed?" Ranma interjected. She knew how she looked in that dress, but she was still getting used to other people seeing how she looked.

"Awww... is Princess getting embarrassed? Look, she's actually blushing," the blonde teased.

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Sarah and Dan were sitting at the kitchen table. The redhead had been eating an apple but had stopped in mid slice. Dan had paused his crushing of walnuts with a pair of pliers. The two cousins looked at each other in mute horror.

"What's wrong?" Ichi asked. The fairy was sitting on the counter and had been watching Dan.

"She did it. I can't believe she did it," Sarah muttered.

"It might not be that bad," Dan said, nervously looking at the door.

"Are you sure of that?" Sarah asked after the back door was thrown open and a blonde figure stepped in.

"Well? What do you think?" the blonde said as she posed at the doorway. She was wearing the expected uniform. It had black skirting and bows with trim in dark green. She wore a pair of knee-high green wedge-heeled boots. Expectedly, her tiara's gem was a piece of polished obsidian.

"You kind of look like Sailor Pluto or maybe Jupiter," Sarah remarked.

"Did they ever carry guns?" Dan asked as he eyed the two gunbelts that were slung across her waist in a crisscross pattern. At least those looked good, though he could appreciate how much it exposed her legs.

"I'd worry more about the whip," Sarah, noticing the item tied to the blonde's belt.

Dan blinked. "So... what flower are you?"

The blonde smirked and fingered her whip.

Sarah leaned in and looked at the floral detailing on the uniform. "Oh, God. You had to pick that plant."

"Yeah, isn't it great?" The Sailor Senshi of Deadly Nightshade asked.

"I think it suits her," Princess Rose said after she and Sailor Willow entered after the other senshi.

"It was the best flower I could think of," Nightshade added. "By the way, thanks for not messing with my mind, Princess. I still think your dress is way too long."

"You said princess with less sarcasm," Sarah pointed out

Nightshade glared. "Well... she really is a princess," she admitted with a dismissive shrug. "But she's just the princess of a nice garden and a flock of fairies."

"And now you two are her little Senshi."

"I think she looks good dressed that way," Dan said.

"You would." Allison paused and formed a slight smirk. "And you'd look good that way too."

"I suppose that upgrade we've been working on would allow me to change clothing..." Dan trailed off realizing how thoughtless his thinking was.

"Smooth. I hope you enjoy that silly getup," Sarah sighed.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it," Ranma offered.

"That doesn't reassure me Ran-man."

"Don't worry, we've gone over your upgrades. You definitely won't be a floral Senshi." Ranma said.

"Okay then," Dan agreed in an apathetic way that still unnerved Ranma.

"Though I won't say no if you want some training. At the very least you can watch Allison," Ranma offered.

Dan rubbed his chin. "Tempting, she would be wearing that skirt, and it is funny to see you beat people."

"Wait, what?" Allison demanded.

"You will be taught Wild Rose style," Ranma stated.

"You made that up!"

"I also made Sailor Nightshade."

"And it makes sense, both magic and martial arts require debugging," Erika said.

"Glad you agree Sailor Willow. I'll be looking forward to teaching you."

Erika sighed. "I walked into that."

Ranma nodded.

"What about Allison's gland? Was that fixed?"

"Yup!" Allison said as she slid onto Dan's lap. "They went into my brain and fiddled with it. Yes, I think I'll show you just how much fun this uniform can be."

Princess Rose sighed. "You're going to use the uniform of a Floral Senshi as a prop in your bedroom antics?"

"Come on, Princess! The flower is the reproductive part of the plant. Sex should be a part of it!" Allison declared.

Sarah tilted her head slightly. "That was a surprisingly tactful and clean response. I expected you to say something like. 'Sorry Princess, it's too late for that, but thanks for the new uniform. I wore the crotch out of my old one.' " Sarah looked at the blank faces among her friends and the horrified look on her sister. "Too much?"

"A little," Ranma then paused and after running through possible responses simply nodded to Nightshade. "You're right, Allison."

"Damn straight I am, Miss 'I spawn my own fairy minions out of the very sex organs I picked for my name and symbol."

"It really was a good idea to move in here. Think of all the stuff we missed," a holographic projection of Gos said after appearing. Erika, the source of the projection, stepped aside. She and Gos shared the same body, which was originally his, but had been cursed with a modified Jusenkyo curse to allow for the two to have a "timeshare".

"I'm sorry. I was being a bit nice to the girl that fixed that little insanity bomb in my head." Allison glared, from her seat in Dan's lap.

"I figured you would take the sexual connotations to flowers." Ranma said to Allison.

"At least her flower isn't synonymous with romance, Rose." Erika teased.

"Yes, yes. Roses have many meanings, all of which seem to be applicable to me. That they've been cultivated from a plain, hardy wild flower into an amazingly wide variety of colors, shapes, petal patterns, root structure, lifespan, leaf-size and bush versus vine body-type is especially interesting."

"Why did you have to get her talking about roses again?" Allison sighed.

"Like I'm sure you don't want to research about deadly nightshade," Erika replied.

"True, but I'm not obsessive like Princess is."

Ranma frowned. "I really like roses. That's all."

"She is unable to do anything halfway," Sarah added.

"That's not it," Allison powered out of her senshi form. "So, Princess... why do you dress like this? You told us you were making up your own kind of princess."

"When I'm in public I would have to dress to a certain standard. That is just part of being a princess," Rose explained.

"This is America... we don't really _do_ princesses," Dan muttered.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Alright then, but you're not in public now. In fact you dress like a slightly formal young lady who likes roses at school, not a princess."

"That's still me dressing up." The redhead gave an effeminate wave of hand in dismissal.

"So why do you dress more formally here than in public?"

"I did not want to hate having to dress-up every day," Ranma sighed daintily. "You are right. I am thorough with things, and I got carried away with how much I like this."

"So you brainwashed yourself so you'd like being a pretty princess?"

"No. I programmed myself," Rose corrected.

"Programmed. Right.. You just altered some parameters in your head with Calash. That's completely different." Allison theatrically nodded.

"Also we've only been to school, shopping, and a diner in public. If we were to go to a more fancy place. I would naturally dress better."

"That's very... pragmatic of you sis," Sarah allowed.

"It made sense. Besides, what kind of princess doesn't like to look good?" Ranma honestly asked.

"Oh, you're not vain; you're just following your program?" Dan asked suspiciously. He was fairly certain Ranma was vain before all this.

"Exactly. I wear shorts and a blouse when I'm gardening," the redhead said as she clasped her hands in front of her waist.

"Nah, I mean you were vain before you became a princess," Dan clarified.

Gos' projection smirked. "Yeah, truly vain would be dressing up for no reason and all the time. Like when she's just going to lounge about at home," he smirked.

Rose, who was still in the same gown that she often relaxed while reading rose books, blushed, but also frowned slightly.

"I'm sure Sis has just gotten carried away. You're still getting used to it, Ranma." Sarah smiled. "Maybe you'll dress more casually now that it's been pointed out to you?"

"Or maybe she's just super-vain but realizes it isn't practical to wear a dress while gardening," Allison countered.

"I am _your_ princess now," Ranma said.

"I may tease you, but vanity is something I can understand and respect."

"This is my default setting. Unless I want to wear something else, this is how I dress. We've been over this." Ranma looked down at herself; she then gave a slight sigh and started to walk out of the room. "Dan, I'll be working out some kinks in your design. I'll call you when I get done with them." The princess left up the room and went upstairs, her heels clacking on the wood floor.

"I think we upset her," Sarah said.

"What makes you say that? She didn't sound angry." Dan adjusted his position so Allison's hips did not dig into his lap as much.

"This is Ranma we're talking about. She tries to keep her tone even. Did you notice how she stayed in her gown the whole time?"

"Yeah, she was forcing herself to be calm," Gos agreed. "Normally, she's a natural with this princess stuff. But did you see her walk out of here? She was mincing."

"To walk with very short steps or with exaggerated primness," Erika quoted from her dictionary. "Yes, that was her to a T."

"Someone should go talk to her," Sarah sighed as she got up. Even living here she never expected to have family problems like this. Sarah eyed the others. No one else offered.

"Do I have to?" Sarah asked.

"You're supposed to be the responsible one, right?" Gos inquired.

"You're the one that stood up," Dan said.

Sarah sighed. "So how do I cheer up a sad computer girl?" She turned to Erika.

"What do you want from me?" Erika thought for a second. "Well, she doesn't have a boyfriend, so no help there."

Sarah shook her head, and stood up. As she walked up the stairs she grumbled about useless house-mates. Without knocking, she opened the door.

Ranma looked up from her chair.

"Were you crying?" Sarah did not hear anything before opening the door.

Ranma leaned back and did not respond.

Sarah paused. Talking seemed pointless. It would do more harm. She did not know what Ranma was going though. Even Erika had no real idea. Sarah walked up to the chair and put her arms around her sister.

After a few silent seconds Ranma rotated the swivel chair and faced Sarah. Her painted lips twitched and she put her arms out to hug her sister back.

Sarah eased the pressure and was surprised when Ranma held onto her tighter. Sarah looked into her sister's eyes. They still looked human, but there was a piercing, calculating nature to them.

"We care about you," Sarah reassured.

Ranma nodded and closed her eyes.

Sarah almost smirked. The closed lids really showed the extent of her eyeshadow, eyeliner, and eyelashes, but the abundance, and a preference, for makeup was part of the problem.

As Sarah hugged Ranma, she wondered how hard it was for her. In one day Ranma had become the most feminine person in the house. She was the only one of them that regularly wore dresses, heels, and jewelry.

Sarah reminded herself to try to get Ranma to tone it down, later. Even at the best of times, her sister was very stubborn and prideful. She was also quite attached to her ideas on what a princess had to do.

"Thank you." Ranma said as she avoided eye contact.

"Still worried about-" Sarah paused to find the right phrase. "Balancing your core self with the requirements of your magical princess nature?"

"Part of me is," Ranma said brushing some hair out of her face. "The rest is wondering about Nerima."

"What Gos did won't stop them forever," Sarah agreed.

"I need more information."

"I'm sure you could send fairies or something like that over there to watch them," Sarah suggested.

"Yeah, something like that," Ranma agreed.

Sarah looked into her sister's eyes. "Oh no, what are you planning?"

"I'll just mail some things to some people," Ranma smirked.

"As long as it doesn't get back to this location."

Ranma gave a sideways glance. "I'm not that dumb. I know how to conceal a package's origins."

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I do now!" Ranma grumped.

"Is pretty handy being you isn't it?" Sarah remarked.

"It's one of the benefits." Ranma admitted. She sighed. "I'm still not sure what I am, or what I want."

"Can't you do a diagnostic?"

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I know all the schematics of my systems. I'm the one that rebuilt them, as for diagnostics..." She shook her head. "Yes, I know all the components and even what happens when they're working together. I _am_ constantly updating and expanding."

Sarah looked at Ranma and snickered.

"Yes, a breast joke," Ranma dryly remarked.

"Oh come on, that body-hugging green gown of your makes them painfully obvious."

"Yes, painful. I understand why bras are so great now," Ranma frowned

Sarah grew more serious. "So... you're really afraid of what you're becoming?"

"Something like that."

"What about projections or plans for yourself?"

"Oh in the small scale they're accurate enough, but once I get more than a couple weeks out..." Ranma waved her hand and a graph appeared. It showed a curve that got higher and higher the further out it went until it split into dozens of various lines all shooting off at different slopes. "This is what I mean by 'Singularity'. I just don't know how I'll grow... what I'll become." The redhead looked down. "Sometimes... I wish I still had some... framework. Some direction. Freedom's scary."

Sarah sighed and hugged her again. "Yes, yes, you're growing at unexpected rates, are you at least getting better at predicting your growth curve?"

Ranma gave a smile.

"So you don't know what you're growing into? Does it matter? Fundamentally you're the same entity that's approaching a singularity. The whole thing with singularities is that changing the time base only offsets the singularity by a small amount of time, right?"

"Yes, I'll always be Rose, but it's still disquieting." Ranma shrugged and dismissed the image.

"None of us know what's in store for our future."

"Maybe I should invent a chronoscope then," Rose grumbled.

"That's not a good idea," Sarah cautioned.

"Why not? It's an interesting application of principles, and the execution would bring fascinating challenges, and then there's the applications, think of the computational ability," the redhead's eyes sparkled.

"This doesn't sound like a good idea," Sarah sighed. "How about that portal idea?"

Ranma narrowed my eyes. "You said I could cause a resonance cascade."

"Resonance cascade is better than causality collapse."

"Really? That's almost as insane as Allison's suggestion that I make Cenarian Dryads."

Sarah stared. "Right... stick with fairies."

Rose nodded.

She shook her head. "No... no causality violating transport or information transmission." Sarah glared. "I won't have you collapse reality just because you wanted to process faster."

Rose pouted.

Allison poked her head into the room. "How's things going? So did lesbian twincest make everything better?"

"No!" Sarah shouted.

"Everything's fine, thanks for asking, Sailor Nightshade," Rose smiled.

"So what's not a good idea?"

"Chronoscope," Sarah sighed.

"Well you are the Princess, why not build some Time Gates?" Allison asked.

"Don't encourage her," Sarah hissed.

"You were the one telling me that I should build a portal device instead."

Sarah glared.

"It's okay," Ranma assured. "I have no idea how to make a time viewer or a teleporter."

"I give her a month," Allison smirked.

Sarah recalled the graph; a month into the future was well into the unknown zone. "Oh dear."

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Yawning, Dan collected his tools and, after pausing to make sure everything was clear, closed the hood to his truck. He turned to a tiny green figure hovering nearby. "Well, what do you think?"

Ichi paused. "How many hours have the blades seen since they were replaced?" the floral fairy asked as she landed on one of the tool chests.

"Under a hundred hours," Dan shrugged as he washed his hands.

Her hand was at her chin. "That's within the recommended lifespan."

"What, did you look that up?"

"Yup!" the fairy happily replied. "I looked up the manual to the engine, and to the truck itself. Though I don't think the second one is very useful."

"I modified the chassis too much." He stopped. "So you hacked some jet engine company to get the manual?"

Ichi giggled. "No, I just had Hachi read your copy."

"Clever girl," Dan allowed. "Hachi? Ranma made another one of you?"

Ichi shrugged. "The Princess' garden is getting bigger."

"And she needs more of you," Dan noted.

"What concerns you?" Ichi frowned.

"Ran-man practically started off with you guys. Do you know what that means?" Dan asked as he did a final tool count to make sure he had not left anything in the engine.

Ichi's frown remained. "But our creation is a trivial task. The Princess merely had to make a derivative of her own design, modify a rosebud to grow a golem, and then download the template into it."

"If a sentient servitor creature is trivial. What is hard for her?"

"She did modify Allison's template and fix her invisibility gland three days ago."

Dan paused on his inspection. "And was that hard?"

Ichi looked down. "No."

"Right, in, what, a coupla hours she fixed something that'd been stumping me 'n Sarah." Dan resumed his work

"It was a bit more complicated than that."

"Right, she can work on all sorts of problems in the background. Heck I've seen her do high energy calculations while she sits down in the dirt weeding."

Ichi tried to smile. "Is that what bothers you?"

"I wonder where it's going to go. After she catches the Hacker, what's left? I guess there's Nerima, but I still wonder... what if she gets bored?"

"Interesting. Well, there's always her garden." Ichi inhaled. "Since when were you so worried about the future? I mean what about your future?"

"There's Allison," Dan shrugged. "Now that she's... well... now that we're sure she has a future..."

"Ahh... I see," Ichi grinned broadly.

"Do you? I mean you're a plant."

"Of course I know about stamens and stigmas."

Dan frowned. "That's for a flower, humans work a bit differently."

Ichi blinked. "Really? But you've got both, too."

"No! Well... yes, but at least not at the same time." Dan sighed. Something about that reminded him about someone else.

"Ahh, that seems better."

Dan started at the little fairy. There were several questions he did not want to ask. They involved her own, for lack of a better word, genitalia and what she thought his gender swapping was "better" than. Instead he went with a safer question, an important question. "So what's Ran-man up to?"

"Why don't we find out?" Ichi happily said as her wings fluttered and she flew towards the door back to the house.

"You're on her network. Couldn't you just ask her?" Dan wearily asked as they passed through den and around the conversation pit and the bank of computers.

"Sure, but that's not fun," Ichi flew around and landed on Dan's shoulder.

"Fun? Keeping something secret from yourself?" Dan asked when they went to the porch. Sarah was sitting in one of the chairs reading.

"Well, yes, it's how suspense works."

"That seems silly."

Sarah looked up from her book. "Don't bother Ichi. Dan's the type of guy that reads the last chapter of a book first."

"Then what's the point of even reading the book? Surely, a plot summary will do the job and save even more time."

"Yeah, I do that first." Dan looked between the green-haired fairy and the red-haired cousin. "How else would you figure out of a book was worth reading in the first place?"

"No, don't nod in agreement Ichi." Sarah sighed, and closed her book.

"What?" Dan asked. "I already know how the book ends. That way when I read it from the start I can see all the foreshadowing and hints. That way I can appreciate all the work the author put into it. I know where he's going and I can see all the steps used to get there."

"How very mechanical of you. Literature isn't engineering."

Dan laughed. "See, Ichi. She's just grumpy that I care about the painter's methods as much as the painting."

"Method of construction does affect end result of the construct. However, this precept does not correlate to the desire for exposure to the work in a way that was not the creator's intent," Ichi evaluated. "Perhaps that is your desire. To see it in the way the creator did not want it."

"He likes picking at things." Sarah said, resuming her reading.

"There's nothing wrong with figuring out how stuff works," Dan turned to look out into the back yard. "Ah, she's in the garden."

"Of course she is," Sarah said. "And remember, she can scan a whole book at once, but she chooses to actually read the ones she cares about."

"I'm not like her," Dan said stepping off the porch.

"Yes, she's got some feminine modesty," Sarah sighed to herself.

"So, what are you doing?" Dan asked stepping up to a part of the garden just off the central and oldest rosebush. Many of the pathways were simply marked out portions of ground and even many of the ones paved with cut and polished stones meandered through plain grass or freshly tilled ground. It looked like the fairies had miniature granite mine somewhere up the hill. As he walked to his cousin, he and Ichi had passed many fairies, busy with maintaining and expanding the garden. The variety of rose plants was impressive, even with only a handful blooming. There were various vines, leaves, and bushes of various sizes.

Ranma looked up from the wooden table she was sitting at. "Oh, I'm just making some gifts," she said slipping a couple polished white objects into two boxes. "And the deliveryman was so helpful," she said, reflecting that the help was likely due to her purchasing at the overnight air rate. She peel off a couple pre-printed labels and sticking them on the boxes.

Dan caught a glimpse of the devices. "Nothing too... drastic?" he asked. She had yet to address the two packages but he could guess where they were going.

Ranma's eyes went to Ichi before returning to Dan's. "You're right. I have been too passive. I'll make sure the next batch I send out has more... punch."

Dan smiled. "Good. It's about time you start kicking ass."

Purely for effect, the princess coughed. "So, what can I do for you?"

Dan closed his eyes and... shifted. She then opened them. "I know Sarah talked to you, but... she doesn't understand." She sat down across the table from Ranma.

"And you do?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I suppose, you can understand what I was, but even that is a stretch."

"Erika and Gos cover the transhuman parts. I'm talking about the gender thing, and that I know you don't have a handle on."

Ranma's eyebrow went down with the same precision it had risen with. She started writing addresses on the two packages. "You do have much more experience in sex than I do. So, you understand the confused desires that come with being a different gender?"

Dianna closed her eyes again. "Yes." She was not sure if Ranma had paused to be polite or was investing a, relatively, long time to think over her statement.

"Obviously Allison knows," Ranma then warmly smiled. "You're right. I think you can help me adjust."

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"Well this is lovely," Kasumi said to herself as she looked into the open box. An unfolded paper with an official-looking letterhead was in her other hand.

"What've you got there?" Nabiki asked, eyeing the small package.

"I won a contest," Kasumi smiled. "From that cooking and housekeeping magazine I subscribe to," she added wistfully.

"A contest? What is it?"

"A game or competition between rivals, for a prize, but that's not important right now," Kasumi idly stated.

"What? No that's not... " Nabiki looked at her sister's innocent expression and sighed. "No, what did you win?"

"Oh! A phone," Kasumi pulled the plastic object out.

Nabiki paused to absorb the design. It was white plastic with organic-looking curves that made it look almost alive and had rose tracery on the edges. The only way it could get more feminine was if it was pink, sequined, or glittery. "That's nice, but they'll just get you on the cost for the plan."

"Oh no, the prize includes a very nice calling package," Kasumi added after reading some more of the letter.

"Really?" Nabiki reconsidered that phone. She wondered if Kasumi would bear to part with it. It looked nicer than her own phone, and while it was girly it was not garish. On the other hand, it had a smaller screen.

"Yes, now to activate it." Kasumi flipped the phone open and smiled as the number pad and screen lit up. The activation sequence was dutifully and reverently entered. The camera (and a variety of other inputs) had already verified the user's identify.

"Hello?" Kasumi blinked at the strange dial tone.

"Hi Kasumi, what do you think of your gift?" the voice on the other end of the phone said with amusement.

"Oh, it's lovely." Kasumi paused. The voice was familiar, but she could not place it.

"I'm glad, but I must confess that it is not a gift from the magazine," the voice demurely admitted.

"Really?" Kasumi wondered where she would have met such a refined-sounding woman.

"I notice you're not alone. If it's not too much trouble could we keep this private?"

"Oh? I'll have to think about that." Kasumi closed the phone ear and looked at it. She frowned at the camera lens.

"Sounds like they tried to sell you another plan," Nabiki smirked.

"Yes," Kasumi absently said. That voice was familiar, hauntingly so. "I'll be in my room." Once the door to her room was closed she sat on her bed with the phone in her hands.

Eventually she opened it. The image of a blooming rose on the screen made her smile. Kasumi put the phone to her ear.

There was no dial tone only the voice. "Thank you, I was a bit worried that I might put you off."

"Who is this?" Kasumi asked

"Please don't repeat my name," the voice pleaded.

Kasumi could sense the fear and worry in the feminine voice. "Well of course," she assured.

"I'm still amazed you haven't figured it out. Have I changed that much?" The voice then chuckled, though at times it was almost a giggle.

"Oh my, Ra-" Kasumi then caught herself. "It's been so long, why are you calling after so many months? It's nearly been a year," she softly added.

"It has been a while, and thanks for not using my name," the voice said with a tiny wince. Mentioning how long she'd been gone was almost as bad.

"Of course."

"Are you enjoying your phone? I got it special for you."

Kasumi pulled the phone off her ear in shock She looked at the blooming rose image. The view pulled back to reveal a small garden and panned over to a young woman in a nice blouse and knee-length skirt sitting primly on a bench. Her red hair was shiny and flowed back from a thin golden tiara that arched through her bangs. That it was bright and sunny in the garden indicated the call was coming from a very different time-zone.

The garden girl waved and a button on the bottom of the phone blinked. There was a slight click and a plastic piece slid out.

Kasumi paused for a moment before realizing that it was a small headset.

"There we go," the voice said once Kasumi had the headset on her ear.

"So what do you think?" the girl... Ranma smiled as she posed shyly.

"It's an impressive gadget." Kasumi said as recognition truly sunk in.

Ranma blushed demurely.

Kasumi smiled at the image quality; it was crystal clear. "So what happened? You look like a princess."

"Thank you!" the redhead gushed, almost starry-eyed. "I was worried the tiara would be a bit much."

Kasumi resisted the urge to say the first two words that popped into her mind, but she was afraid about how this "princess" would react to that. This was like something out of one of Kasumi's stories. "So is this a... new you? This why you left? What should I call you?"

"Princess Ranma Rose O'Neil, but you can call me Rose, that'll protect my identity."

"How about Rose-hime?" Kasumi smiled.

"That's fine," Rose laughed.

"Is that why you left? You found out you were a princess?"

"Oh? You expected me to be like this?" Ranma asked.

"You do make a very lovely princess, Rose-hime. You seem so prim and proper."

Rose blushed. The attention from Kasumi was nice, but somehow a bit disconcerting. "But no, I left because I wanted to find my real family. Becoming a princess was my only option," Rose sighed.

"Really?" Kasumi suspected that. She felt becoming a girl, let alone becoming a princess was something that Ranma would only do under the most dire of circumstances.

Rose nodded. "It was either become this or turn into someone's slave."

"Did you get another curse? Some spell with a loophole that you needed to exploit to escape it?"

"Very sharp, Kasumi," Rose smiled.

"Oh my, whatever do you mean?" Kasumi innocently asked.

"I'm sorry," Rose blushed.

"Whatever for?"

Rose fidgeted with the bow in her hair. "I just realized that I copied my new hairstyle from you."

Kasumi giggled. "Oh don't be silly. You look lovely with it that way."

"I know why you like it, manageable but feminine with nice body." Rose blushed.

"It's not identical. Yours is longer and better kept, though as a princess I'm sure you spend more time on your looks."

Rose smiled coquettishly.

"It's lovely hair, Rose. Do you have anyone to help you brush it?"

Thinking of her fairies Rose answered. "I may have a hand or two."

"Well, a lot of princesses have their hair to the floor or longer, but that's not practical for everyday. You're being very casual, not even braiding it with ornaments or silk."

Kasumi smiled at Rose's subtle vain preening, though a part of the redhead did look calculating as if she were making mental notes. "Well, you have a bow larger than mine, not that it doesn't look familiar." Kasumi teased.

Rose frowned. Ukyou knew where she was, but did not even try to contact her. At least Ukyou kept her location a secret. She would know more once Ukyou's phone was delivered. Kasumi simply got hers first.

"Something wrong?" Kasumi asked

Rose paused. She hated indecision, especially when it lasted for the eternity of several seconds.

"I suppose you could put your hair up. If you want to look more regal."

Rose's eyebrows lifted. "That could look nice."

"And it'd show more of your neckline and face. You always had just gentle, youthful features." While Kasumi's words prattled on, her eyes carefully studied the redhead.

"Good points, I will have to try that style." Rose looked down.

"It was very brave of you to call me," Kasumi reassured. "I can see why you're afraid. Is that why you want me to keep it a secret?"

"I am very feminine now, and my life has enough distractions." Rose's tone was depressed. It was more than talking to Kasumi and Ukyou, she wanted to tell -well- Akane at least, but whenever she imagined how talking with Akane would go the results were...

Rose stopped, for a brief instant and reminded herself that simulations had poor correlation with people's actual behavior, at least currently.

"Are you happy?" Kasumi hoped that question was safe. She knew about princes and princesses. She wondered what kind of princess Rose was and if she still did martial arts.

"Oh yes, I can be who I really am now, and I'm finally in control of my life. Not some puppet or some witch's guinea pig." Rose wondered why Kasumi had not asked the obvious guy questions.

"Really, you actually like being a princess, then?" Kasumi asked with obvious surprise. "Are you a prince as well?"

"Well, no not really," Rose blushed.

"I see. Well, you seem happy with this."

"Yup, I even designed my own gown." Rose then stood and with a wave of her hand shifted into her green gown and tiara. She twirled briefly before curtseying and sitting back down.

Kasumi giggled. Rose's ankle-length skirt was too tight for a proper curtsy, though it did accentuate her figure in an exceedingly complimentary way.

Rose folded her hands in her lap. "Not surprised at my magic powers?"

"You've transformed into a perfect young lady, magic powers seem mundane in comparison, and that dress is very lovely. It fits you wonderfully, even if it's a bit... tight up top." Kasumi felt the tightness below the waist was just fine. She had missed Ranma's company, among other things.

"Oh, I don't know about mundane." Rose gave a secretive smile. "And you're right about the top. I really regret all those times I refused to wear bras."

"You're wearing one now, though."

Rose blushed. "Oh dear, you can see it?"

Kasumi giggled. "No, it would be incomprehensible for a princess to not wear such a basic garment, but surely having proper support helps things?"

"Yes, but there are the expected sleeping, back, and attention problems."

"Back problems, you? And since when have you had trouble sleeping?"

Rose looked away from Kasumi's inquisitive look.

"Ah, I see. Well, princesses are supposed to attract attention. You have experience in this," Kasumi said somewhat reproachfully.

"Maybe I don't like where people look. I'd prefer a bit more eye contact." Rose shrugged.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "That is new, no longer vain? That's a princess trait you had before."

Rose chuckled. "Oh no, I'm still vain, just annoyed that one part overshadows the rest."

Kasumi tapped her chin. "I have read about corrective surgery, but that is a very drastic step."

"You're joking?" Rose asked.

"Of course, it's too far of a risk, it's not like you can magically shift your body," Kasumi's smile seemed to dare the redhead.

Rose tapped her chin.

"Oh can you?" Kasumi nodded. "What kind of magic? Does it involve roses? Have you always had a secret love for them? Or is it new?" If the former were true then Kodachi would have been quite a trial for Rose-hime, Kasumi thought to herself.

"It's not just roses," Rose smiled. "That phone is more than just a little gadget."

"Did you make it?"

"Of course," Rose laughed. She waved her hand and made a laptop appear. "I'm not just the Rose Princess."

"You're into computers ?"

Rose frowned. "Not only that but I am one. That was part of the curse put on me. I was being turned into something like a robot."

"Are you still human?" Kasumi delicately asked.

"I'm a blend." Rose held the laptop. It seemed to melt and morphed onto her arm. The rest of her body gained a slight sheen and noticeable seams at her joints. Antennae-like blades sprouted from behind her ears. "I can be whatever I want to. I'm the perfect synthesis of woman and machine, magic and technology."

"You're part rose too?" Kasumi wondered if Ranma was just another "part" in the varied list of machine, plant, and princess.

"That too." Rose smiled and her form shifted again, returning to its human state. Her skin started to turn green and white roses began to bloom in her hair and form into bracelets and other jewelry.

"You really are a magical girl!" Kasumi gushed, pondering the possibilities.

"Magical girl, huh?" Rose smirked. She got up and after a brief flash and twirl had transformed into something that a very diligent Sailor Moon cosplayer would have made.

"Oh, I love the wings," Kasumi gushed.

"Thank you." Rose sat down and crossed her legs after giving a futile attempt to smooth her skirt in an attempt at modesty. "The hemline is far to high, but I suppose that's part of the deal."

"Yes, it seems you like longer skirts now."

Rose blushed. "You contributed to that. When I was programming my mind I used your style as a basis." She smiled at Kasumi's gasp. "You're the most poised and ladylike person I know." The princess then transformed back into her gown.

"That's very sweet," Kasumi blushed. It was easier to think of this girl as... well... Rose-hime. The whole thing was so fantastical it was like a visual novel game off of one of her books. "I'm honored that you chose me to base your new... personality off of," Kasumi said, hoping that was the right thing to say.

"I'm still Ranma. Just a Ranma that's all princess."

"Like when you hit your head and got all girly?" Kasumi asked.

Rose's face soured. "She was too indecisive, too weak willed. A princess has to be stronger than that."

"It sounds like you're putting a lot of thought into this. I never would have guessed you would realize that feminine women can be strong too."

"I do have more time to think," Rose remarked.

"Being part computer and all." Kasumi was not sure what that entailed but she had seen Rose-hime transform, and there was something more to it.

Rose nodded. " Kasumi, do you know about any books on princesses or any hints? There's a lot of information out there and my family..." She lowered her voice. "My sister Sarah's a tomboy, Allison's a bit risque, Erika's too plain, and Diana is worse off than me."

"Are those all your sisters?"

Rose laughed. "Sarah is. Erika is a spiritual sister. Diana's my cousin. And Allison's seeing Diana."

Kasumi smiled. "How nice."

"They are cute together. Though they're not exactly ladylike. If you know what I mean. Now on that subject, I was wondering if you knew of any books that could be a help."

"I may Rose... but I don't really think the characters in the books I read are your type of princess. None of them beat up the dragon and save the prince themselves."

Rose blushed. "I get enough of that in my day to day life. Perhaps some fantasy would be nice."

"That sounds like you. So you have a sister and she's a tomboy?"

"I'm aware of the irony," Rose said with a smirk.

"Um, Rose. I believe those are missiles," Kasumi said eyeing some things darting past in the background. She wondered if she triggered the "game's" _bad end_.

Rose turned to look behind herself. "Guys! I'm on the phone" she shouted just after an explosion came from off screen. The camera panned to show a girl in a uniform similar to Rose's firing on another wearing some type of metallic armor.

"Rose! What's going on? Are you okay?

"Oh, that's just some family bonding back there. My sister gets a bit trigger happy when teased," Rose explained.

"So she's a very spirited girl?"

"Yes, she's a nice girl really; she's just a violent maniac. Though you could say that for Allison too."

"Sounds like you have fun with them."

Rose nodded as the explosions faded to be replaced by simple screaming and yelling. "Good they're calming down. So what's about these books?"

"Well, 'The Princess and the Saucy Pirate' is a good start. It's quite tame."

Rose accessed an online entry on the book. "Saucy?" she asked in shock, according to the reviews that book was anything but tame.

"Well the hook is that he's a chef, and wants to get this one last treasure and retire to make his own restaurant," Kasumi happily explained.

Rose blinked. "That sounds silly."

"Oh no, the princess is quite assertive in that one."

"Well, that sounds a bit too familiar."

"True," Kasumi noted looking at Rose's bow. "How about 'The Secret Lady'? It's not exactly a princess book, but it's about this seeming low-class woman at finishing school and being wooed by a nobleman."

"Maybe," Rose forced a smile. She had just looked at the cover art for that book and it was nightmarish.

"With all those times Akane's been kidnapped you could write your own," Kasumi joked.

"But, I'm looking for new stuff to guide me," Rose pouted. She resisted the urge to comment on Akane's lack of resemblance to a princess. Sure, Akane was taken by princes and has been pursued by the majority of a school's population, but Rose felt that Akane did not have the personality of a princess. The Rose Princess had to smirk at the irony of someone with her own past judging Akane's qualifications.

Kasumi put a finger to her lips. "Are you going to send a phone to Akane?"

"I don't know," Rose stated.

"You sent one to me."

Rose straightened the way her dress draped over her knee.

"Is it because I'm safe?"

The redhead nodded.

"Also, I could reject you and it wouldn't hurt so much?"

"It'd hurt." Rose looked up. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to come off so calculating."

"You are part computer." Kasumi tapped her lip again. "But what about Akane? What about Ukyou? What about Shampoo?"

"I'm not worried about Shampoo," Rose said a bit curtly. "And I've sent a phone to Ukyou."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. Part of her felt a bit jealous, Akane always was the special one. She pushed that aside. "You need time to think it over?"

"Yes, and if you don't mind, could you keep this in confidence?"

"Of course." Kasumi noted that Ranma's voice became more formal the more... nervous she became. "If you ever need any help making a... decision..."

Rose brightened. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

"Funny you should mention Ukyou..."

"I'm aware she moved away from Nerima." Rose stated.

"Were you aware about her new admirer?"

The redhead blinked. She had been keeping tabs on Nerima, including the staffing changes "Would this be her new waitress?"

"Oh yes. A charming little Kunoichi. Ukyou and Akane and, oh Ryoga I believe, helped rescue the poor dear from a wicked stepmother and stepsisters." Kasumi smiled. "Isn't it funny how life can seem like a fairy tale?"

"What's the twist?"

Kasumi's smile grew. "Ironically, Ukyou made the opposite assumption about Konatsu that you did with her."

Rose nodded as part of her began searching. Like many of the events in Nerima there was little digital record for her to search, but it kept part of her occupied. Having a name helped too.

For the longest time she had assumed Ukyou was a male, and indeed Ukyou could still pass quite convincingly, so the opposite of that was... A smile appeared on the redhead's face. "I see. That must have shocked Ucchan."

"A bit," Kasumi allowed. "But they seem quite happy working together. Have you thought about calling Ukyou yourself? You did send her a phone. Or one of your other friends back here? Someone you haven't sent a phone-" Kasumi hesitated briefly. "Yet."

Rose's expression faltered for a moment. "Right now, I'm playing it safe. Things are complicated."

Pushing down the specter of jealousy Kasumi nodded to herself. She and Ukyou were "safe". If they rejected this new princess, what would it mean to Ranma?

"You're testing the waters then?"

Rose nodded.

"If you ever need an advocate... having someone ask in your place."

"I will ask you for help." Rose gave a smile. "Just not right now."

Kasumi held her tongue. _Oh Ranma, all this power and poise and you're still an inexperienced, and scared young... woman,_ the elder Tendo thought to herself. It made sense why this Rose would seek out her, seek out "big sister" Kasumi. "Are you still looking for some book suggestions?"

"If you have some."

"How about 'The Many Suitors of Princess Windsor?' It's about a princess who has to choose between many handsome princes. She comes up with a very... imaginative series of tests. " Kasumi winked.

"A bit to close to home," Rose blushed.

"How about something a bit more risqué then?" Kasumi asked with a secret-little smile.

"Well, is this something that you think of as a bodice ripper?" Rose asked, teasing Kasumi a little.

"It's 'Akiko's Awakening.' Akiko is in denial of her true... feelings and then an old school friend of hers comes and he makes her realize the truth," Kasumi delicately said.

"Euphemism for forced intercourse until she is made pliable?" Rose guessed, showing clear distaste on her face.

Kasumi coughed. "Maybe 'Love Times Four' by that nice Jeanne McCann woman in Seattle, then?"

Rose accessed the reviews and synopses for that book and blinked. She did it again after doing a cross reference and a bit more research on the author's other works.

"That's a lesbian book," Rose blinked a third time.

Kasumi laughed, but an embarrassed blush had crept onto her face. "I sometimes like the translations when I'm looking for something sweet and palate cleansing."

"Intriguing," Rose allowed. She found this new side to Kasumi very humanizing.

"Do you not like girl and girl?" Kasumi asked with a ghost of a smile.

"I thought of things like that before, given my curse, but at the time I didn't think anyone wrote about such things." Now Rose was doing the research, and found herself a bit surprised at the scale, even with this one specific subset of erotic content.

"Well, it is more common than you'd believe," Kasumi pointed out.

"Really? I might have to look into that book and see if I can get any ideas."

"What about your curse? Are you now a princess that turns into a guy?" Kasumi was curious as to the situation. Was it truly inverted?

Rose coughed. "I've controlled it, but I don't feel comfortable like that anymore," she delivered her lines smoothly.

"I admire your ability to be who you really are. How is your... family over there taking it?"

Rose giggled. "Even given the transformation from an uncouth guy into a prim princess, I'm still the second most normal person in the house."

"You always get such interesting friends," Kasumi laughed.

Rose shook her head. She gave Kasumi a sideways glance. "You don't seem surprised that I'm female full time now."

"Truthfully? I expected sooner or later there would be a cute redheaded marital... er- martial arts master living in my home full time," Kasumi said simply.

"Instead of a dumb jock?"

Kasumi nodded. She had expected some changes, but these seemed almost excessive.

"May I ask why?"

"You seemed more alive in your girl body. Any time you had alone to relax I would normally find you as a girl."

Rose paused at Kasumi's explanation to go through her memories. It seemed reasonable enough.

"All though, you being a princess is a bit of a surprise to me." Kasumi giggled.

"You're surprised? How do you think I felt?"

"And if I'm too accepting, you are a natural." Unnaturally natural in Kasumi's estimation, but Ranma always did put a full effort into things. "Look at how well you've carried yourself and that well-tailored gown." Kasumi smirked. "A very cute redheaded martial arts master."

Rose smiled and adjusted her posture. "Cute martial arts master? You're assuming that I'm still into that?"

Kasumi laughed. "Oh please. Even becoming a flower themed magical princess would not keep you from martial arts. I'm sure you adapted."

Rose blinked. "Yeah, it's called Wild Rose School."

"How fitting. I heard wild rose bushes are very hardy."

"Oh really?" Rose asked with pride.

"Quite, a woman at the market I go to wanted to get rid of some that had gotten overgrown. Her husband tried to trim it down, burn it, poison it, and rip it out. In the end they had to soak the ground to loosen the dirt. Only then could they pull the roots out with a chain attached to a car." Kasumi pretended to ignore Rose's increasing horror. "The woman was amazed at the roots. They were deep and thick."

Rose whimpered to herself. _Those poor, abused roses._

"I guess the moral is that if it's a big old rose bush, you're better off leaving it alone. Trim it and make it look nice because it was there first and you're not moving it." Kasumi's tone had become reassuring. "Yes, I can see why you picked such a plant." Kasumi said, considering the romantic symbolism surrounding the flower too. "You'll have got big roots too I'm sure," Kasumi said, looking to Rose's waistline.

"I didn't pick roses. They picked me." Rose flexed her hands. "You are right about the big rose plants. My mother had some rose bushes, and amazingly one of hers grew wild and survived. It's now the centerpiece to my garden," Rose said as she got up. The camera followed to where Rose was showing off an immense rosebush. It was trimmed but not so much to cover-up the gnarled, natural branches.

"Does your mother like gardening with you?"

Rose's smile evaporated and she sat down on a nearby bench. "You couldn't know," she said folding her hands in her lap. Deep down, Rose liked to think that her mother would have enjoyed gardening with her

"I'm sorry. I..." Kasumi watched as the young princess regained her composure.

"It was Genma's fault. He robbed me of my mother. Both are dead, there's nothing I can do. At least I have family over here; a real family."

"Family is very important," Kasumi said a touch of sadness entering her voice before brightening. "But it's wonderful that you called and gave much such a great phone. Though I must get to making dinner."

Rose smiled. "We have been talking a while, but you've been a great help on my princess quest."

"Don't worry, we'll talk again soon," Kasumi's eyes twinkled. "And next time I expect to see some changes. Do you need me to repeat my ideas?" she coquettishly asked.

Mentally replaying the conversation and excerpting anything resembling a suggestion, literature, style, or otherwise, Ranma shook her head.

"Good, I look forward to talking again my little Rose-hime," Kasumi closed the phone shut and sighed happily. Putting the phone in one of her apron's pockets, she got up and quietly left her room. A hope sparkled in her, one that had been pushed aside ever since that disastrous crush in elementary school when she had been too... forward.

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In a room bare, save for a large mirror, Rebecca held up a clear plum-sized orb "In return for the power to assure your revenge, do you swear to help me obtain materials for my research?"

Ryoga eyed the shimmering sphere and the swirling galaxy of light within it. "Is this the last operation?" he asked, his English rough but fluent and passable. His eyes flashed green for a second and his arms tingled. He could feel the orb's power resonating with his own augments.

Rebecca eyed the shaggy-haired man. He was wearing the same stout traveling pants. Though he wore a dark green vest over his shirt. Bits of silver thread flashed through the vest in detailed, almost fractal swirls. Green and salmon light flashed down the silver threads.

"Yes, this is the last stage. With this-" she looked to the orb. "You're powers will be complete."

"If I need it." Ryoga crossed his arms. "I'm feeling pretty good right now."

Rebecca laughed. "No... you want more power. I've seen you in the field." The orb pulsed in her hands. "If you can take it... you will."

Ryoga opened his mouth. A flicker of salmon light went across his fangs.

"Yes, you're complaints about those field tests have been less... heated."

"Ranma cheats. I need every advantage."

"Which I'll give you."

"Only after jumping through hoops. You've got me running around like some delivery boy."

Rebecca's face clouded. "It's not all courier work."

"No, some of it's breaking and entering. I didn't agree to be your guinea pig for the fun of raiding research labs."

"I needed the equipment."

"Right, for all those robots you're building," Ryoga scoffed. "What about my upgrades?"

"I needed things for that too," Rebecca lifted the orb. "And this is it. I promise."

"And then I'll get my revenge?" Ryoga impatiently demanded.

"Soon, after a couple more field tests to be sure."

Ryoga glared.

"Allow me this indulgence."

He snorted.

"Your enemy's friends have some very... dangerous equipment."

"You want the gadgets her friends have?"

"Among other things," Rebecca nodded, a bit impressed. He was more on the ball than he let on. Not that it would matter for much longer. "That's why I need you to beat her; she's got some interesting... gadgets too."

"Oh? Interested in the little princess yourself, too?" Ryoga laughed. "Aren't you afraid of being recognized?" He asked, suspicion entering his voice. For a moment a green aura flickered around his form.

Rebecca lowered her hand, palm down, in a calming gesture. "Not if this works. You of all people should want to put Ranma in... her place." Rebecca gave a waxy smile. "I've put a lot of work into this," she ran a finger over the surface of the orb.

Ryoga had watched her spend hours and hours, day after day working on various computers and bits of equipment. It was all gibberish to him, save when she recorded him doing martial arts and other physical feats. He looked at her intense expression. "As much as you did on him... er... on Ranma?"

"Yes, Ranma," Rebecca tilted her head. "Interesting that she kept that part of her name. She could have gone for something new."

"So he gave up being a Saotome." Ryoga shrugged. "Genma was scum. Even a cheater like Ranma'd know that."

"Still, that name has such an appropriate meaning. Chaotic stallion." Rebecca laughed. "And yes, you could say that about the work I've done for you."

"Maybe more wild horse."

"Even so, running about, trampling everything. Not a care for the messes caused, the stampedes. Ruining things, leaving a wreckage long after she's left."

"Akane still..." Ryoga balled his hands into fists.

Lady of Shadows gave a thin smile. "Do you swear?" Moving the orb to one hand, she stepped closer. "Will you give me access?" A holographic keyboard appeared in the other.

Ryoga paused, for a moment the swirling inside the orb sped up; it seemed almost hungry. Rebecca met his eye then turned her head, putting the keyboard out of her sight. He wondered how much that mattered; he was entering the code into her system after all.

He shrugged and slowly entered the password by poking a finger through the projected keys one by one. Hitting enter, the keyboard flashed and the image vanished. Rebecca turned back and nodded

Ryoga's chest tingled and buzzed. He steeled himself; he had been through worse training before. "There you go. I've authorized you to upgrade my Template."

"Good." Rebecca's eyes flicked to the orb and she nodded and began to move her fingers in a tight little arcane motions. Runes began to appear on the surface of the mirror and as she moved her hands they shifted color and configuration.

Silently, the orb continued to pulse.

After a couple minutes, Ryoga coughed "So... is it starting yet? Will this finish my super-powered Template?"

Rebecca tore her gaze away from the mirror. "Sorry," she said utterly unapologetic. "I had to make sure the initial conditions were right."

"How so?"

"Well, if this works on you I'll be that much closer to knowing how to tame our mutual enemy. Though, really, I must thank my former... companion. Who knew that her... tastes would be so... inspiring" Rebecca chuckled and released her grip and the sphere shot straight towards Ryoga. Feeling it smack his neck, he instinctively reached up and tried to pull it away, but before he could a pair of cords shot out of the sphere and encircled his neck.

Pulling at the cords, Ryoga felt his arms grow numb. He kept up the pressure until he caught sight of himself in the mirror and saw his arms becoming progressively thinner and thinner. The shock caused his grip to loosen and allowed the cord to tighten around his neck.

Gasping, he fell to his knees. Ignoring the fresh strain on his weakened legs he screamed and tried to leap at Rebecca. He tried to channel power into his wards, into the vest. He even tried to summon an aura but the orb responded and became even more restrictive. Unable to even gasp, Ryoga seethed with rage as he found himself stumbling back to his knees.

The orb loosened its grip, and panting Ryoga felt his anger melt away. Returning to the mirror, his eyes widened, not at the rapid wasting his body was undergoing but at the orb. The slight pinkish spiral within was spinning faster. To Ryoga it looked like some kind of a whirlpool or drain.

Feeling his anger almost totally replaced with fatalistic depression, he turned to the smirking woman. "What, what are you doing to me?" Ryoga's voice cracked as he rasped out the question.

"I'm giving you what you asked for. You'll like it; I promise." Rebecca purred.

Ryoga doubled over in pain as the orb pulled in its cord and spread the constricting, suffocating tightness across his body. Already swimming in his clothes, his thin limbs contracted and shrank. Over several crushing, burning seconds Ryoga felt his body twist and retreat, as he lost half of his height.

Mute, Ryoga stared into the mirror and saw a fairly effeminate eight year old. The figure in the mirror began to shift; its face became rounder, eyes widened, nose shrank, and other organs completed their rearrangement. The power continued to surge, and the martial artist felt overwhelmed.

Clothes that were far too big for this body transformed. The shirt, pants, and underwear shrunk down becoming undergarments. While the vest exploded out as it lengthened and spilled down arms and legs.

Lightening to a snowy white, it split into layers and ruffles and fluffed around the hips, shoulders and chest like a shimmering confection. The silver thread brightened and grew into an even more intricate design. Tiered skirting puffed out. Consisting of staggered petticoats, the shortest were on the top with progressively longer and more lacy underneath, the whole garment resembled a cake in the language of silk.

As that happened, her hair grew out and then pulled up forming a pulsing bud atop the child's head. The bandana shifted, its black spots vanishing while the yellow brightened and gained a shiny luster.

The now golden band leveled itself on the child's brow, encircling the swelling bud of steadily lightening hair. The band split apart into a series of delicate spars and simplistic whorls. The child winced as some of the spars felt like they were stabbing her temple. She gasped and saw her height increase, at first she thought her shoes had transformed to high heels, but her tiny feet were still swimming in her old boots.

She then watched as her body grew and aged. It was only a couple of years, but the shaping of her dress revealed the bare hints of a curving hip and a chest that almost needed a training bra.

Then her hair-bud exploded and she gasped again. A rain of pastel pink ringlets floated down and around her head and then spilled down her back like knee-length cape.

A newly pink eyebrow was raised as her height rose by a couple inches, this time due to high heels. The pressure and support on her feet were a clear enough sign, but after a brief pain in her temples she somehow knew she now wore a pair of glossy high heeled, platform Mary-Janes with big pink bows on the toes.

Her despondency crumbled as she felt something coat her face. Her skin tingled, and her temples still stung. Foundation smoothed on giving her perfectly even, glowing completion. The sensations built as pink blush was blended onto her cheeks forming a permanent demure blush. Her eyes shifted to a dark emerald shade of green. Completing the almost doll-like artifice, her eyebrows slimmed into tiny arcs, her eyelashes fluttered and curled out and she acquired pink eye shadow and dark pink eyeliner.

The crescendo of color and sensation hit when her lips were hit with a sparkling lip-gloss. A final gasp escaped her new lips when a perfect little beauty-mark appeared on her right cheek a bit above the corner of her mouth. Depression mixed with... something else as she stared at her face, now as decorated as the rest of her.

The cords connecting the orb thickened and spread out encircling her neck in a golden band that held the swirling galaxy. Lace and frills formed, edging the shiny choker.

As the girl stared, she felt her depression dissipate, sucked into the softly glowing ruby-red orb tied to the front of her silk choker. As the last sad thoughts were drained away the galaxy within the choker orb stopped its spinning.

Mute, she raised a gloved hand and touched the orb. She frowned, even encased in ruffled lace her hand was delicate, dainty. The choker awakened and she found her frustration melt off, returning her to a... confused state. She felt... nice.

Her choker flashed and the galaxy within began to rotate in the opposite direction. Warmth flooded the girl and she felt a sparkling smile curl into place. A giggle escaped her lacquered lips, and the seeds of pride bloomed into full blown vanity. The sound of light giggling and the pressure from the choker eroded her resistance and pushed her vanity deeper and deeper.

Rapt at her reflection, she spun around a little bit. Then she paused and stared at her reflection again. There was a tingle from her tiara. Obediently, she gave Rebecca a curtsy and then returned to slowly rotating in front of the mirror. She giggled each time her skirts, ribbons, and especially her waves and waves of pink ringlets flounced.

Staring at her tiara and choker, she hardly noticed the older girl step up to her side. Instead the younger girl paused, and tried to think. Words tumbled into focus and suddenly, almost like in a storybook, she knew what she had to say.

"I look like a princess!" the girl gushed in a voice nearly as sugary as her dress. She blinked and frowned at her exclamation, but the choker shimmered, the tiara stung and puzzlement was exchanged for eagerness.

She exhaled and closed her eyes. They opened; the reflection stayed the same. "I look like a princess," she repeated this time in an angry growl. She spun around and looked up at Rebecca. "You said I'd get my revenge!" she screamed just before a stabbing pain came from her tiara and it became hard to concentrate.

"I did, and you will." Rebecca gently pushed the smaller girl back to facing the mirror.

The pink-haired girl put her hands to her forehead and gasped. The pain, and anger, had subsided.

"Don't give up. You're stronger. You're cuter." Rebecca whispered as she put an arm around the smaller girl.

The choker flashed and the girl smirked at her reflection. She was cuter than some dirt-caked pretend princess.

"You're a better martial artist, a better princess," Rebecca assured, hugging tighter.

"I am?" The pink-haired girl... the pink-haired princess reached out and touched the cool glass. "I am," she confidently, smugly repeated.

"You can beat her. With my help you will beat her. Of course..." Rebecca continued to whisper. "I can take it all back."

Suddenly turning hot, the mirror flashed over the girl pulled her hand back with a cry. The stabbing from her tiara flared up and her image in the mirror twisted. Standing before her was a stumpy, brutish being. Hunched and hulking, it had beady eyes over a cavernous jaw full of crooked fangs. All hard lines and slab-like muscle, its body was concealed by a sack-like shirt and worn, stained trousers.

Whimpering, she clutched onto Rebecca and closed her eyes. "Make it go away!"

"As you wish." Rebecca waved her hand and the mirror shimmered.

The imaged changed, and the pink haired girl sighed in relief at the reflection, her reflection.

"I promised you that you'd like it," Rebecca smirked. She now understood her redheaded test subject, and the trap the wild-mare laid for Rebecca. Subjecting people to this kind of makeover was immensely satisfying. Though Rebecca preferred shimmering gloss to glitter and knew her latest experiment would not require a corset. And she would be sure that when it came time for payback, the mare would certainly enjoy the results of Rebecca's work.

She chuckled at the irony. Rebecca even shared much the same fashion preferences to this "Rose Princess" overly-feminine gowns and hairdos were lovely, lovely for other people. For personal use something easy to manage, yet indicative of their station was a must. Gaudy frills were for others.

The self-declared princess frowned. "But... how can I keep up my end of the bargain? I can't fight? Can I?"

Rebecca patted the girl on the head. "Don't worry, your strength, your rage, your energy, it's not gone. That would be a waste. Honestly, you were wasting so much of it before. Do know what a capacitor is?"

The girl shook her head causing sparkling pink springs to dance about. She remembered, but she did not remember that word.

"Well, I guess your lessons will have to start somewhere. How do you feel?"

"Great! I love it!" the girl automatically stated. She then paused and flushed, it seemed too easy, but... she looked up at her reflection again. She _was_ a natural.

"You're such a good girl."

The new girl felt her pride grow and embraced the pink image before her.

"And good girls deserve to be rewarded." Rebecca pulled a jewelry box out of her pocket and handed it over.

The girl's hands shook with excitement, almost causing the box to slip out of her silken fingers. Opening it, she gave another one of her cooing gasps. Nestled in the box's bed was a bracelet of woven gold. Three die-sized intricately cut diamonds were held by just enough woven gold to secure them, and not obscure the symbols suspended within.

"Here, let me put it on," Rebecca said as she took the bracelet and then using a hidden clasp locked it around the girl's right wrist.

"It goes perfectly!" Admiring the bracelet, the girl read out the kanji within each diamond: Beautiful princess child.

Rebecca wrapped an arm around the girl. "Yes, my little Mikiko."

An easily ignored pain brushed over Mikiko's temples as she lovingly looked up at Rebecca. "Thank you... Oneesama." She smiled broadly and, once again, looked at her reflection. She could not get enough of looking at herself.

A frown flickered into existence before dissipating, leaving her looking at her teeth. Mikiko blinked, fluttering her eyelashes in the process, but the surprisingly long fangs remained.

"They're the same as before," Rebecca chuckled. "The only thing, but don't worry, this time you'll have a use for them."

Mikiko's eyes widened "Will I use them against Rose?"

"Perhaps. We'll have to see what works best."

"Oh," Mikiko played with her bracelet, idly feeling each stone.

"Something wrong?

"I want to help you." Mikiko balled her tiny fists. "Please..."

Rebecca smiled and reached out and touched the center of Mikiko's tiara. The headgear shifted and gained sleek inward curving points along its circumference, each tipped in a tiny pearl. The shimmering pearlescence peeked out amid a shifting sea of pink hair. In the center of the newly formed cornet a single oval emerald grew into place just under Rebecca's finger

Ignoring how the new crown felt even tighter and more... prickly, Mikiko giggled. "So pretty!"

"I was going to wait, but you've been such a good girl." Rebecca tapped the emerald.

Barely having time to recover from the praise, Mikiko cooed as her hair twisted and spiraled out, growing in length and body, adding another inch to her "height". Gleeful, she turned and looked into the mirror. Now extending well past the floor, her hair spilled behind her like a train.

Rebecca chuckled. "That is your weapon."

Mikiko looked back and swung her head causing the cascade of hair to swish back and forth. "So, pretty," she said watching as her hair continued to undulate, long after something with that much weight should have stopped.

"Come on," Rebecca said, tearing the girl away from her reflection.

Mikiko tried to follow, but she stepped heel first and with a shriek fell down. Whimpering she held her arm up.

Rebecca reached out and pulled the girl back up. "Oh yes, that will work," she said, looking at her hand closed over Mikiko's

"What?"

"The movies I've got," Rebecca smoothly said. "I just know you'll love them."

"Really?"

"Oh yes." Rebecca lead the smaller girl to the living room. "They'll all about princesses, like you. Yes? You have a question."

Mikiko gave a tiny frown. She tried to remember... before. Oneesama had been talking about horses so... "Are there ponies?"

Rebecca's smile grew. "Oh yes, plenty of ponies. Some of which think they're princesses."

Mikiko squealed in delight.

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Sitting on the deck, enjoying the evening air Ranma was reading the new romance book Kasumi had recommended. It was interesting. Not that for any real erotic content on Ranma's part, but because Kasumi recommended it and apparently enjoyed it. The parts talking about court intrigue were informative, if overwrought and a bit silly.

The redhead's attention turned to the transmission being sent to her. The second package had finally been opened and the data feed revealed that the phone was being handled, and by whom.

Closing the book, Ranma activated the phone. "Hi Ukyou, this a good time?" she asked calling up an electronic copy of the book to resume reading on.

Nearly dropping the phone, Ukyou gasped. The opened box was still on the counter. She stared out the window of her small shop, absently watching the morning traffic pass by. "Uh, yeah it is."

"That's good. Oh, you do not need to worry about learning this new phone number. This phone has it built in," the redhead added with just a tinge of frost.

"You got me a phone?" Ukyou put a hand to her shoulder and adjusted her bra-strap. It was a more comfortable undergarment, but still felt a bit odd. Especially during work hours when she could not adjust it.

"I was worried about yah, Ucchan. Thought you might not have a phone. Well, maybe you just lost my number. I did give it to you right before I left," Ranma smirked. "It's okay, these things happen. I do wonder why it took you so long to open the box."

"I was busy yesterday, and how did you-"

Ranma cut her off. "Ah yes, you were running a special. I heard you had a line out the door during the lunch rush."

"Yeah I did," Ukyou said slowly and deliberately. She paused to choose her words. "How are you? Find your sister?"

Ranma's eyebrow went up. At least Ukyou remembered that much. "Yes. Overall it's been good. Weirdness and magical stuff again, you know how it goes. But I did find some family."

The brunette exhaled, that much sounded right. Still, the way Ranma was talking did sound a bit too... refined. "Yeah, work's been a bit quieter, but still pretty weird. Last week there was this skinny guy that was part of this all-you-can-eat tournament," Ukyou absently said.

"I got a caught in a magical avalanche, the only way to win was to become one with it, and I'm now watching fairies tend to my rose garden while reading a romance book."

A bubble of pain momentarily popped in Ukyou's brain. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a princess thing. I'm happy that you kept my secret. Did a real good job about that." Ranma poured on the congratulatory sweetness.

Ukyou blinked. She felt a familiar sensation, but could not place it. "It was nothing."

"You're too modest," Ranma said in an agreeing tone. "It's like no one had any idea where I was. I trusted you and you alone with where I was going and I did not hear a peep, from anyone."

Ukyou paused to focus. "Did you say something about princesses or fairies?"

"Yes, I did." Ranma's teasing tone rapidly shifted to a more neutral one. "So, how's your new shop? Did leaving Nerima help calm your life down too?"

"Yeah... as I said things are still odd, but it's a lot more... manageable." Ukyou nodded. She looked back out the window and wondered why she had bothered to use this phone, why she had even called. The familiar sensation returned. She was reminded of a subtle feint. "Wait..."

Ranma obliged Ukyou by remaining silent as she continued to read.

"You sent this phone right to my new place. You knew where I moved, too."

"Well, of course I had to figure that out, Ucchan. You did not tell me when you moved."

Ukyou froze. She had been outmaneuvered. She could place the familiar sensations now. Ranma was sparing with her.

"I wonder. What did you tell your father? Did you tell him you avenged your family's honor? Like you wanted to when you first caught up to me back in Nerima? Death gets rid of many problems. Are you still going around as a boy?" Ranma asked.

"I... didn't."

Ranma laughed. "Oh, I do not mind. There's no reason you should pay for Genma's stupidity, and if you can get some benefit out of his death, then go ahead. It's not like you can marry a dead person, or kill one."

"Uh, thank you?" Ukyou leaned against the wall. She could tell there was a fight going on, but had no idea what the rules were or what Ranma's goal was. "Have you been thinking about this a lot?"

"A lot? No not really." The redhead gave a light little laugh. "This is just me thinking aloud," Ranma stated, amused. "I should apologize for taking so long to call you. I should have realized that I needed to take the initiative."

"It's no big deal," Ukyou said a slight pain forming in her head.

"You're right. I should have been careful. You might have changed your mind and started trying to kill me again. You do change driving goals at the drop of a compliment, Ukyou."

"Hey! That's an insult!" Ukyou yelled.

"Yes, as was most everything else I said to you," Ranma dryly remarked.

"You jerk!" Ukyou should have known this was all some elaborate ploy... she did not know what for, but it had to be for something.

"Now, now. I took the time to craft elegant left-handed insults. At the very least you could give an effort to play along too. I am quite arrogant and insensitive."

"Yeah, you can be a real jerk." Ukyou breathed; she felt better with some momentum.

"I was a real jerk, but I'm trying. I'd like to think I'm a better person now. That I've learned from my experiences. I'd like to think you have too."

"You what?" Ukyou put her free hand down on the counter. "What do you mean? Did you just call to tease me?"

Ranma gave a little sigh. "No, no. Well, just a little."

Ukyou laughed. "You jerk."

"You moved on with your life." Ranma closed her book. "I'm hurt that you did not call, but maybe it was for the best. Maybe we both needed to just get out of Nerima.

"What happened over there?"

Ranma's mood lifted. "It's hard to explain."

"You said a magical avalanche. Oh Ranma, you didn't do something stupid and get cursed again?"

Looking at her silver braces, the redhead laughed. "No to the first, yes to the second."

Ukyou blinked.

Ranma waited for the brunette to puzzle it out.

"You got cursed but it wasn't your fault?"

"Yes."

Ukyou frowned. Ranma's voice still sounded refined, almost artificially so, but now it was distant and flat. "The magical avalanche?"

"Yes."

"That you became?"

"Yes."

Ukyou clenched her jaw. "Fine, be that way. You haven't even said what kind of curse this is?" Ukyou demanded though part of her recalled that Ranma had mentioned something, something about princesses. "You think this is all a game don't you?"

"Should I?" Ranma laughed. "Sorry. Yes I got a new curse. One that was taking over my life, one that I could not beat. Not without embracing it."

Ukyou's eyes widened and her right arm went down to the counter, falling atop her left. She looked at the rounded white phone. It had little green vine-style accents and a big red rose on the back. The only logo was as little stylized rose on the side and a larger one on the back.

It looked like something a little girl would have... Maybe one who was playing princess. Ukyou licked her lips and raised the phone back up to her ear. "You got... you got a princess curse. You were cursed to turn into... what? Some kind of girly girl dragon-fodder swooning for a prince. And if the only way to beat the curse was to become it... you're now a better princess? One using roses?"

Ranma whistled. "Wow."

"I'm right aren't I?"

"Not on the details, it was not exactly a _princess_ curse, but that's basically it."

"Something to do with roses?"

"You do not get any bonus points for guessing that." Ranma laughed.

"Man you better hope Kodachi doesn't find out about this."

"She does grow her own roses," Ranma noted.

"And she'd rant about a low born harridan like you stealing her thunder."

"But I'm not low born," Ranma noted with a smirk. "I'm a princess."

"Princess eh?" Ukyou shook her head. She was curious. It was easy to dismiss as some sort of scheme on Ranma's part. Ukyou knew Ranma was not above using her female form as part of some plan. However, she could not see what the advantage was for Ranma to mail her a phone, wait for her to call and then pretend to be a princess. She went back to the idea of this being some sort of ploy but was at a loss.

"Yes."

Ukyou sat down on the stool. It was nearly ten, she should be opening up soon. "Okay, what's this about? Why contact me? Why now?"

Ranma looked out over her garden. "Because. I had not tried to contact you either. I'm out of your life. You're out of my life. We're both happier and more feminine for it. We could leave it at that."

"Leave it like that?"

"Sure. Unless you still care about me." Ranma was careful to keep her last sentence neutral.

"Did you call in girl form for a reason or...?"

Ranma waited.

"You're locked aren't you?" Ukyou guessed.

"Yeah," the redhead softly admitted. "Does that make a difference?"

"What are you asking?"

"We can go our separate ways, but we don't have too."

Ukyou squeezed her eyes shut. This whole thing was inside out. She could see why Ranma used the phrase avalanche. Ukyou felt like if she did not keep dancing she would be buried and lost too. "Ranma... I'm your friend but... after you left..."

The redhead's laughed. "Oh no, no. That's not what I meant. Well, actually friendship is exactly what I was asking about."

"Wait..." Ukyou's hand gripped the phone so tight she was surprised it didn't crack. "All this cloak and dagger, all this princess stuff, is so you can call and give me the 'I hope we can be friends' line?"

"Is that what I saw before I ran away from Nerima?" Ranma lightly asked.

Ukyou huffed.

"You don't have to make a choice now, Ukyou," Ranma's voice dripped with disappointment. "So far, you've been making pretty good ones, actually. You abandoned this fanatical, stupid, and self-destructive quest to get me. You're making your own life, your own business."

The brunette frowned at the last bit. Ranma sounded almost... jealous. "And now you're trying to compliment me?" Ukyou sighed. Ranma never did make sense. "You really can be so clueless."

"Don't you know it." For a split second Ranma paused. "Still, we could try to start over again. As those two friends we were, before those two old men came in and messed everything up."

"Should I trust you?"

"That's what I was worried about, myself." Ranma sighed. "It's not like you trusted your best friend. You decided that I fit your needs better dead."

"That's not what I did! Not exactly."

"Least you could have done was called me. Let me in on the scam." Ranma's laugh returned. "Man, could I have helped you sell that."

Ukyou blinked. "You said you trusted me to keep it a secret! If I called you someone could have heard me, and then what? They'd have brainwashed everything I knew out of me. Did you want that?"

Ukyou grabbed the cardboard box the phone had come in and threw it across the restaurant. "Oh wait, you sent me a phone. So you must have wanted exactly that."

"It's a secure phone," Ranma stated.

"Really? And do you know my restaurant is secure?"

"Yes."

Ukyou stopped. Ranma's tone had once again become cold and flat. "Really?"

"That's a valid line of reasoning." Ranma's tone softened. "I'm sorry."

"How do you know I'm safe?"

"I don't," Ranma stated embarrassed. "Someone could come right in and they'd hear you. The odds are slim but it is a possibility"

Looking out the window, Ukyou blinked. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I thought this was all about me. That you did not call because it was me, but you had your own life. I had my own life too. I could have been the one that called you."

"You did you stupid princess!" Ukyou yelled. "And now you're babbling about how you put me at risk. Make up your mind."

Despite herself Ranma laughed. "Oh, it's been a while since someone called me indecisive."

"Are you over your little paranoia spell?"

Ranma chuckled. "No, but we can table that issue for now. If you're worried and want to end this you can throw the phone out. Everything will be taken care of."

Ukyou pulled the phone from her ear and eyed it suspiciously. "What, does it have a self destruct?" she asked after reluctantly putting it back up against her head.

Ranma blinked. "No... it's biodegradable."

"Oh." Ukyou looked at the phone again. She ran a nail across the surface. It _felt_ like plastic. "What now?"

"That is up to you. You can pitch out the phone. Or you can keep it. You can call me, or you can leave the phone in a junk drawer."

"I am curious about the mess you've got yourself into." Ukyou admitted.

"That is a start," Ranma coyly said.

"Yeah, it is. Wait. Hell yeah! It's barely a start. You haven't said anything about your family, your friends or even what really happened to you?"

"You do want to know?"

Ukyou looked at the clock on the phone and sighed. "It's a long story isn't it?"

"Very much."

Ukyou swore. "I've got the store to open soon." She still had time, Konatsu was not back from shopping, and he was never late. "Can we call later?"

Rose smiled. "My pleasure. Call me back?"

"Well... we've still got a bit of time."

"Oh, alright." Ranma settled back into her chair. " Konatsu get a promotion? How is he doing anyway?"

"Yes and we're... he's doing great," Ukyou flushed.

"How lovely," Ranma sincerely said.

"Wait..."Ukyou's flush vanished. "How do you know about him? I –we- rescued him after you ran off?"

Ranma laughed lightly. "Kasumi told me. She thought it was very sweet what you guys did to help him." Her voice became wistful. "I can sympathize."

Ukyou looked out the window. Both Ranma and Konatsu had lost their parents and had found new lives. "Yeah... I can see that."

"How is business? It looks like your new location should get more foot traffic.

Blinking, Ukyou briefly wondered how Ranma knew that but... she did know her address and even Ranma could type that into a map program and get a bird's eye, ground level, and even interior view of her restaurant.

"Yeah, things are going good. And how's your business doing?"

"Mine?" Ranma asked, sounding startled for the first time in the conversation.

Recalling the one time Ranma had sounded jealous during the phone call, Ukyou smirked. "You seem to be very interested in my business. So... I'm just wondering if you've got one?" Ukyou asked tapping the phone. Her eyebrows went up. "Where did you get this phone anyway?"

Ranma blinked. "Huh, now there's an idea. I could sell roses."

"The brand of the phone?" Ukyou asked.

The redhead laughed. "No silly, actual roses."

"I think the smart phones are the better idea."

End chapter 10

Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Pale Wolf and Kevin Hammel. They were great on working on this chapter.

And like with Strained Harmony. I'd also like to apologize for the long wait in getting this chapter out. To all of you who waited the seven years for this chapter, thanks for your patience. Man... that's a long time. I hope it wasn't a letdown.


	11. Old Friends Made Anew Part 2

Generation Lost

A Ranma Sailor Moon fic thingy.

By Josh Temple

Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma. So here's the disclaimer

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.

Temporary Backup Site.

fic/

Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku

C&C as always is wanted.

Chapter 11 Old Friends Made Anew Part 2

"Unless you people get off your encounter-suited butts and do something!"

Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

Sarah flexed her hands, the grassy field in front of her looked yellow under the tint of her glasses. The forest felt quiet, muffled. The wind blew through the trees. The sound of buzzing dragonfly wings cut through her earplugs. Seven yards in front of her was a rectangle of cardboard held up by two wooden posts. The range itself went back over two hundred yards, which made the targets appear abnormally close.

There was a harsh buzz to her left. The redhead's right hand flashed to the butt of the gun holstered at her hip. Her left crossed her chest and was held at her sternum. She drew the weapon up and the instant it cleared leather her wrist rotated the gun from vertical to horizontal and her elbow straightened as her arm pressed out.

Her left hand met right and two-handed she fired at the green index card taped to the top of the cardboard. One hole appeared, then was made a bit bigger with the second shot.

Sarah's ponytail was still bouncing as her 1911's slide locked back. She dropped the magazine and as it fell reached with her left hand and pulled a fresh one from her belt and slammed it in. Her thumb hit the slide release and she fired four times into the center of the target making a roughly diamond shape the size of her palm.

Holstering, she looked at the target with a little smile and knelt down to pick up the dropped magazine. When she stood back up there was a tiny round of applause. To her left was a rough-hewn wood table made from logs.

Atop it were her range kit and the shot timer. It was a device that, after a short delay, would start a timer that would then stop after its microphone heard a set number of gun shots.

Standing around the grey box of the timer were a trio of green-skinned, green-haired fairies. They were all wearing little green and red dresses that looked vaguely like leaves and petals. Though one wore had blue trim to her dress and stood a little bit taller.

She bowed to Sarah. "Three point seven-two seconds. You're getting close to the world record. You'd be even faster if you just put six rounds in one magazine."

Sarah blinked. "Having to do a reload is the whole point."

"Oh, you're still very fast."

"Sure, this time. You didn't see when I fumbled with the magazine last time."

Ichi kept her face neutral.

"Oh goody, you've learned how to lie. I'm sure sis'll love that." Sarah sighed and picked up the timer and started recording the data into her logbook.

One of the shorter fairies looked to Ichi and gestured with her head pointing in Sarah's direction.

"Would it inconvenience you terribly to ask when you'll be done?" Ichi then gave a little bow.

"What now?" Sarah turned the timer off and stuffed it into her range bag. A hard plastic case that contained a couple other handguns she had been using was also closed and bagged up.

"There's no rush, but the Princess does have a meeting and she would love to have your advice."

The range was at the high end of the O'Neil family's property. As such, Sarah stepped off the front and stood at the head of the path that meandered up to the range. Below her she could see the house, the garage, the driveway, where Dan had his truck out for some reason, and the sprawling rose garden that dominated much of the rising land between the range and the house.

Sarah could see her sister near the middle of the garden puttering about in a pair of shorts and an embroidered green blouse. "She could have come up herself. She didn't have to send you three."

Ichi looked to the other fairies before giving Sarah a nervous nod.

Sarah removed her shooting glasses and pinched her nose. "You're helping again aren't you?"

The little fairy tilted her head.

Putting her glasses in their case and removing her ear plugs, Sarah shook her head. "Fine, you wanna be helpful? She waved her hand at the stunted grass that made up the range grounds. To the right of where she stood were hundreds of metallic flashes where the casings had landed.

"Clean up?"

"Yeah, pick up the brass and sort by caliber."

"Can do!" Ichi said as she and the other fairies buzzed off.

Sighing, Sarah went downrange and picked up the target stand. She then put it inside a shed that stood at the back of the range, opposite the little knife throwing gallery and then lowered the warning flag down the flagpole that stood next to that.

She shouldered her range bag. As she walked down the path gravel gave way to flagstones, which were then filled in with fine soil and eventually verdant puffs of moss.

Raised beds and gardens were also coming into play. It was not just roses, there were trellises, most of which had climbing rose vines, and little trees and even a couple water features with small ponds and a couple connecting streams that the path crossed using particularly long stones.

Turning down a side path, Sarah smiled at the gardens. Not all of the plants were the nearly throbbing green uber-roses that seemed to pop out of the ground fully formed, complete with perfect flowers. Many seemed to be more natural plants.

Shifting her back, Sarah did frown. She supposed that they might not all be natural. Some of the tiny seedlings might simply be experiments of her sister's that would take longer to take root.

Near the end of the path, Sarah found the Rose Princess. She was kneeling down in a muddy hole lifting a lumpy rock. Neatly manicured hands grabbed the stone and found purchase. She heaved and the rock bobbed into the air and tumbled before landing in an empty spot in the middle of another garden with a wet smack.

"Show off," Sarah teased as she put her bag down and offered a hand.

Ranma looked down at her hands and frowned. "But I'll get you muddy."

"Don't be such a priss," Sarah grabbed her am and hauled Ranma out of the little pit.

"I'm not," Ranma looked at her hands and sighed.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You're whining."

Ranma glared. She flicked her hand and a green-shafted wand with a white rosebud tip appeared. With one wave the mud vanished from her boots, clothes, skin, and hair. Then with another her outfit shifted from shorts and blouse to her customary long green dress. A strappy sandal with a low heel stepped onto the flagstones and she offered the wand to her sister.

"Uh, no thanks." Sarah sighed and pulled a rag out of her range bag and used that to clean her hands.

"That's why I didn't want you to get muddy," Ranma offered.

"That's the problem with doing things halfway, Princess. Next time get her so muddy she'll have to submit to your wand," Allison said, walking up the path. One of Ranma's fairies rode on her shoulder, using the blonde's hair to stabilize herself.

The two redheads looked at each other and shared a look. Ranma raised an eyebrow while Sarah shook her head in negation.

Allison's smile vanished and she stamped a foot. "What, too subtle? Not blatant enough?"

"Oh no, I got the mud wrestling subtext, if you can call it subtext," Ranma said, leading the two other girls to a table near the center of the garden.

Carved out of dense ironwood, the table was a thick disk inset with lighter woods to make a two-tone rosette pattern and was supported from below by thickly arching vines that had been grown in place. Surrounding it were four low-backed wooden chairs made in a similar fashion. Atop the table was a chubby pale green teapot with a single rose painted on the side and three matching stout plain cups and saucers.

As Allison sat down, the fairy jumped off her shoulder and picked up the tea pot. The blonde nodded to the little rose-golem and her cup was filled. Allison took the cup and inspected it. It was pale green porcelain. There were no marks on the outside, or the inside.

"Speaking of subtlety..." Allison lifted the cup up above her head and peered at the bottom. There she spotted a tiny red rose: a maker's mark. She smirked and took a sip of the tea. It was an English breakfast tea with a bare hint of rosehips. She put the cup down on the saucer and nodded to Ranma. "Not bad, Princess. Though I'll have to ding you a point for using your little flunkies to summon me."

"Agreed," Sarah poked at her tea cup.

"Though I do approve of their latest trick." Allison smiled at the fairy on her shoulder.

"Trick?" Sarah's eyes narrowed.

The fairy bowed and green-silver fluid began to seep out of her skin and hair. The emerald quicksilver poured out until it covered the tiny figure and it turned... not quite invisible.

Sarah blinked. She could just make out the fairy, but it was like looking at a figure made out of glass. She looked at Ranma. "You copied Allison's gland?"

The princess coughed. "Not exactly. They're plants, so I could not use quite the same idea. But at range the stealth should hold."

Leaning back, Sarah glanced at Allison. "You knew this?"

Allison looked at the nearly invisible fairy with a smug grin. "I had an idea."

"This isn't about you making your little friends even more sneaky is it?"

Ranma lifted her tea cup and shook her head before taking a sip.

"You know what she's going to use them for," Allison said as the fairy shook herself back to normal visibility.

Sarah nodded.

Ranma took a sip and gently returned the cup to her saucer. "I do apologize. I wanted to call you in person. This is a delicate issue." She glanced at the fairy standing on the table off to the side. "But someone decided to show some initiative. Isn't that right Roku?"

The fairy nodded. "It wasn't my idea Princess."

"No, you simply decided that following Ichi's initiative was a better use of your time."

"Problems with your minions... your invisible minions?" Allison asked. Her tone was light but her eyes bore some concern.

"Ichi visited me with two fairies. You sure you can handle this?" Sarah asked.

"Of course." Ranma reached for her cup, then pulled her hand back.

"You sure this isn't about you making little spooks?" Sarah leaned forward. "Decisions, initiative, planning. Your little friends are evolving."

Roku smiled and gave a curtsy.

"And now you want to send them out to look for the Hacker Bitch?"

Ranma's shoulders squared, and she drummed her fingers on the table in a two-three-five pattern. Then with perfect poise, and distant eyes she picked up her teacup two handed and took a contemplative sip.

Roku blinked. The little fairy then sat on the table, drew her knees up to her chest, and went to sleep.

Sarah frowned. "Damn. Call Erika?" she asked Allison while the princess took another sip.

"Oh great, she's blue screened," Allison leaned across the table and stared into Ranma's eyes. Her face was only a couple inches away. "Hey, Princess!"

"I can still hear you," Rose sweetly said. The cup returned to the saucer with a tiny clink. Roku shook herself awake, stood, and spread her wings before flying off into the garden.

"What the hell was that about?" Allison asked.

"I forced a memory synchronization and checked their personalities. I'm going to have to do some work on Ichi. She's starting to outgrow her hardware."

"Well, I can see why you called us in," Sarah shook her head. "This is an issue."

Rose's eyebrows rose up. "Pardon? Oh no. This isn't about them."

"Then what's the deal?" Allison looked over Sarah. The redhead was wearing pants, blouse, vest, boots, and a holster and magazine carriers on each hip. The blonde then saw Sarah's range bag. "Crap. This isn't more training is it? Because I really don't want to have to shoot your sister today."

"I was at the range, you loon!" Sarah rubbed her forehead, then with a shrug grabbed the tea cup. "And I think the fairy spy network is more pressing of a concern!"

"So? You don't know what this Wild Rose school is like. Princess' a real sadist."

Ranma crossed her legs and daintily refilled her cup. "Really now, that must be an exaggeration," she innocently said before offering to top off Allison's tea. "Wild Rose is nothing more than mental and physical training that can help a young lady, or young gentleman, master herself and her powers. Perfectly proper and builds good character."

Allison crossed her arms. "You can't play innocent with me. I know that behind every toothy grin is another... toothy... grin."

"Eloquently put."

This time the blonde snorted. "At least you can be dismissively haughty as well as dangerously eccentric."

The princess clapped her hands and almost bounced in her sat. "Oh wonderful!"

Once again, Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. "I shouldn't have had any of the tea should I?"

"Oh, it's fine," Ranma said a bit more casually.

"What's fine?" Allison demanded.

"Know how I cured your quicksilver madness?" Ranma asked.

The blonde nodded.

"And then you took advantage of a fixed gland and started putting copies into your fairies."

"Only a few."

"As a test case. I know you; you'll want to use them to look for the Hacker Bitch."

Ranma nodded.

Sarah exhaled. "Well, good."

The princess blinked. "What about your concerns?"

"You're looking to keep them hidden, that shows caution. You know what'll happen if your little spies get caught?"

Ranma looked at her fairies; she nodded.

"We can help, but you're going to have to be cautious."

"Thank you," Ranma gave a little smile.

"Yeah, that's nice, Princess" Allison rolled her eyes. "But you were talking about me, remember."

Ranma chuckled. "When it comes to specific personality types, you have a certain expertise."

Allison's face clouded. "Oh?"

"Oh indeed." Ranma looked apologetic. "Allow me to be blunt."

"If only you could be direct," Sarah grumbled.

Ranma glared for a moment. "Allison, could you teach me how to be, as you put it dismissively haughty, dangerously eccentric, in short: nuts."

Sarah stared.

Allison's grin nearly split her face. "Well, well, you came to the right place, Princess." She leaned forward. "What do you have in mind? You've got a lot of options. With your powers there's plenty of way you can go nuts."

"Well, perhaps off-kilter is a better right word." Rose ran a finger over the rim of her teacup.

"Hah! Like you'd choose the wrong word. You wanna be nuts? Sure we can do that." Allison took her teacup off the saucer and slammed it down onto the table itself.

"And why am I here?" Sarah asked her sister. "I hardly think you need my advice on how to become an unstable danger."

Ranma reached out and took Sarah's hand. She looked down and saw Sarah's hands. They were calloused from working on her guns and armor, especially around her index fingers. Similarly her nails were short and only had a single clear coat of polish.

"You're here as my anchor," Rose gave a careful squeeze. Appearances aside, her grip was still much stronger than Sarah's. "You'll be our sanity check. Keep us from going too far."

"That's pretty scary, coming from my Prissy Princess brother."

"Thanks sis." Ranma gave a bittersweet smile. "I know you're worried."

"About you overcompensating?" Sarah's voice rose. "There's these books you're reading. All that goopy romance nonsense."

"It is fun in a blatant 'let your brain idle' and enjoy the ride sort of way."

Sarah raised her eyebrow. "And that's all?"

"I didn't realize I was becoming some love-struck princess in a heaving bodice," Ranma dryly remarked.

Sarah glanced at Allison. "No comment?"

"What? It's a bit too easy." The blonde smiled at Sarah's put upon expression. "Oh fine, I'm sure such a bodice would be an improvement."

Ranma gave a prim smile. Then rolled her eyes. "Well done, Sailor Nightshade."

"Frankly, I'm more worried about the fairies reading those books than Princess."

Ichi looked up at Allison with an innocent smile.

"Sometimes at night... Dan swears he can hear the buzz of wings," Allison said evenly.

The two redheads exchanged a look. "I'm almost certain they haven't logged any data from that," Ranma admitted after a moment.

"Got you!" Allison laughed. "But seriously, they're going to get curious."

Ichi blinked and started cleaning a teacup.

"Yes, I can definitely see why you want me as an anchor," Sarah took Ranma's hand.

Ranma squeezed back. "Thanks. And you'll make sure we don't go too far. Right? I know Allison can be very –well- enthusiastic."

Sarah held back the comment that came to mind. "Of course. I'll be here for you."

Allison rolled her eyes. "You done?"

Picking up her cup, Ranma nodded.

"Good. And yeah, we can do nuts Princess! With the right stutter and transhumanist god-complex you can do something in the Shodan or Glados style. Now, that'd really suit you don'tcha think?"

The princess looked to Ichi; the fairy nodded in reply. "Would you like some cake?" she asked before taking a sip. "I've been assured that we have some."

Sarah sighed.

Ranma laughed. "Not quite. I was thinking more the haughty rich-girl. Though less insufferable and more whimsical."

"So... there's no cake then?" Allison frowned. "Bleah, no offence, Princess but you're plenty prissy. Why you wanna do shove that stick higher up your butt?"

"No offense? And is priss on someone's word of the day?" Ranma blinked. "Why so it is. The Shorter Oxford-Insult Day-by-Day calendar."

Sarah shook her head.

Allison rubbed her chin. "Well if you want offensive..."

"No. No need," Ranma waved her hand.

"And why do you want to play a spoiled twat?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, what kinda scheme you got cooking?"

"It's for my business."

Sarah frowned. "Ranma... just because you're selling expensive rose bushes to rich idiots doesn't mean you have to be a rich idiot yourself."

"In some ways it does help." Ranma sighed. "But this is also for my Nerima contingencies. I figure I can kill two birds with one stone."

"Nerima? Oh god. I knew you wouldn't stop with those phones."

"Why should I? Unlike here, those luddites have no idea how to secure their comm. systems. Do you know how enticing an unsecured network is?" Ranma demanded.

Sarah glanced at Allison. "Well of course," the blonde assured, patting the princess' arm. "We're hackers too."

Ranma nodded. "The runaround Gos gave them was great, but it's still defense. I'm tired of being reactive."

"You need to be careful." Sarah took Ranma's hand. "If you go too far the Town Fathers will come down on you."

Princess Rose scoffed. "Where were they when the Hacker Bitch destroyed my life? When she turned me into an experiment? A puppet? Why haven't they come down on her?

Sarah looked down. "Because they don't care about one life. They care about their magic, their work, about the town."

"The sheriff works for them, no? Jack adopted me, what's the point of nepotism if you can't take advantage of it."

"I suppose that will give you some leeway. You should be able to be a bit more disruptive than the Hacker-bitch and still get away with it," Allison allowed.

Sarah glared at the blonde.

"What? I'm being honest." Allison leveled her gaze at the redheaded tomboy. "You know there's a reason we can get away with what we do."

Ranma tapped her tea cup. "And this is why I have to be proactive. We need plans. We need information. The Town Fathers aren't going to get off their butts and help us. It's up to us."

Sarah, reluctantly, nodded.

"This isn't about the Hacker bitch?"

"I hope not. As I said, this is about my Nerima contingencies."

"And roses," Sarah recalled. There was something that triggered her memory, something in her brother's past that had to do with roses.

Allison frowned. "Right... roses **and** Nerima?"

Sarah blinked. Given her sister's past "associates", there was only one possibility.

Allison leaned across the table. "Right, you pick the one person in Nerima who's almost as nuts about roses as you. Someone that will put your roses everywhere and has minions doing all sorts of spying. And you pick the one girl that won't ever believe you're Ranma, and is a crazy loon that no one would ever listen to anyway."

Allison smirked. "You do realize the price right?"

"Aside from having to make a batch of black rose bushes?" Ranma sighed sadly. "Yes. This is why I came to you."

Allison put a hand onto Ranma's shoulder. "You came to the right place, Princess. With my help you can be the perfect little rich bitch friend for Kodachi."

Ranma gave Sarah an almost pleading expression.

"Oh, no." Sarah took a sip of tea and winced. "This was your idea, dear sister. What harm can there be in humoring our good friend Allison?"

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Mikiko concentrated and placed one foot after the other. Careful to lead with her toes and place her foot level she made sure she did not stumble. As she walked down the wooded path her ankles wobbled slightly. Her attention downwards she hardly noticed the shade retreat as the trees got less dense, and she almost missed the growing sounds of traffic.

She looked up and blinked, just ahead of her was a busy road and a busier sidewalk. Tilting her head she stepped forward. Standing at the T-junction where the path butted to the sidewalk, Mikiko scanned the crowd. Growing as fast as her choker could drain, worry and anxiety bubbled inside her. Watching the cars and busses and masses of people rush in front of her, she took a step back, back to the park's path. Looking up she saw tall building loom over her; glass and concrete hulks made her feel even smaller and more alone.

Inhaling, she continued watching the city. "I haven't seen this many people since..." Her recollections slipped and her memory fell to something more solid. "since I was watching my movies." Mikiko whimpered, feeling more alone. Those movies had been fun, especially since Oneesama was with her.

Tapping her foot, Mikiko tried to think. She could swear she felt her brain aching at the effort, but then a smile bloomed. "I know! When Adelaide found herself lost in Bremen she went looking for her prince!"

Looking over the crowd she started her quest. Half of the people were right out. She knew from Adelaide's movie that other women would only get in the way. She also knew from the Canterlot Wedding movie that the city guard would be on the lookout for suspicious people. Especially things that pretended to be cute and harmless.

As she looked at the people walking down the street, she mentally crossed off those too old, too weak, too thin, too fat, too ugly to be suitable. Just because she had to practice did not mean she should be sloppy. Feeling her tummy rumble, she licked her lips and hoped that she'd find her prince soon, in time to get a meal.

Then she saw him... broad shouldered, with a decisive face, ring-less fingers, and deep green eyes. Mikiko's heart stopped and she had to pull her tongue in. A rich savory sensation filled her mouth and sinus as she skipped after him. Fortunately, the crowd split around her, and she managed to keep her footing. Catching up to him, she tapped her hair bow and gave the tail of his suit coat a tug. "Excuse me."

Turning around and looking down, Richard Wick blinked. For a moment he almost swore that the little girl was some kind of sugary mirage but then, she came into focus. Almost dropping his briefcase, he looked around. No one else was dressed so... formally. It was all too much, the crown alone...

He blinked again. It did not matter how she was dressed, really...Thinking of his grey-suit complete with matching vest, Wick frowned. Maybe that was why she was bothering him.

"Can I help you?" He asked, still taking in the effeminate excess. Despite being held with a giant shiny white bow that stuck out beyond the girl's shoulders, piles and piles of curled pink tresses still went down her back, past her waist and ended at around her knees.

"I hope so!"

"Were you at a... wedding?" Wick stared at the flounced ankle-length dress, with its pink accents and accents of silver thread.

Her crown tingling, Mikiko clasped her gloved hands to her chest. "Oh yes, Mister! I went out to pick some flowers in the park and –" she bit her lip. "-I got lost! I didn't mean to... oh, Oneesama will be so worried."

Wick frowned, something was amiss, at first he thought it was her teeth, but other than an overuse of whitening, there was nothing wrong with them. "You don't have any flowers."

Mikiko hesitated, until she felt a sting in her temples. "I... I dropped them. I don't know where I am, the wedding's going to be late and I don't even have the flowers!" she wailed as tears started to glide down overly blushed cheeks.

"Don't cry. I'm sorry." With his free hand, Wick patted her shoulder and blinked at how much his hand sank into the gauzy layers. "How can I help?"

Smiling, Mikiko felt a triumphant thrill. She had found a prince. "I don't know where I am."

"Do you have a phone?"

The girl shook her head.

"Do you know this –um- Oneesama's phone number?"

Mikiko bit her lip. "I... forgot." Looking at his disappointed expression, she almost started to cry. A hatred of field tests bubbled up within her and popped before she could give it much thought.

"It's okay, it's okay," Wick patted her shoulder. "Do you know where the wedding's being held?"

Mind empty, Mikiko froze, until the familiar tingling set in. It was much easier to just go with the pricking. "It's at this big hotel. Tall white building with lions in front of the doors!" She gleefully recited, not caring where the information came from.

Wick raised an eyebrow. "The Astoria?"

Mikiko nodded causing her bow, and hair, to bounce about. "That's it,"

Wick sighed in relief. The girl had just got turned around. "That's just around the corner, across the street from the park."

"Oh. I can't believe I missed it."

"It's okay, it's easy to get lost in that park," Wick lied. "Come on, I'll show you where it is."

"Thank you," the girl once again clasped her hands to her chest.

Rick chuckled and started walking down the sidewalk. "I'm Richard Wick by the way."

"My name's Mikiko." She gushed as some more information fell into place.

"Cute name. So who is this Oneesama?" he asked as they rounded a corner.

"The bestest big sister in the world."

Wick sighed. Someone had really spoiled this girl. He looked ahead and sighed. They were almost there.

Mikiko pointed ahead. "Is that it!"

"Yup, see you weren't that lost after all," Wick said as he looked for an opening in the traffic.

Eyeing the hotel, Mikiko stopped at the curb. She looked both ways then across the road. Her heart stopped, for a moment she thought she saw a familiar black-haired woman, but the figure turned and walked away. Sighing, the girl held up her left arm. It looked like she was on her own. "Oneesama said hold hands when you cross the road."

"Err... right," Wick swapped his briefcase to his left arm. When his hand clasped her glove he felt strangely cold silk. A second later, it felt like ice shot through his veins and his brain-froze up.

Keeping her grip, Mikiko looked up. "There, isn't this fun?"

Wick stiffly nodded.

Her forehead constantly prickled, Mikiko paused and looked at her prince's hands. He would need one empty, and she dared not let go. "Put the briefcase down."

Wick obeyed.

"Yay, let's go!" Mikiko let him lead the way.

After crossing the street they passed the stone lions and entered the hotel's lobby. As they neared the check-in counter Mikiko let herself gawk at the polished brass, deep carpets and fancy chandeliers. She knew the rest of their make-believe would be taken care of.

"Daddy, we're going to be late!" Mikiko whined, carefully tugging at Wick's arm. She knew that breaking contact would be bad now. She could see the lines he was to say before he said them. That she could see the lines _she_ was supposed to say made her feel ever so slightly queasy.

Wick absently smiled at Mikiko before turning to the woman behind the counter. "Hi, Wick. Three to check in."

"Of course," the clerk began typing. "Ah, here we are, your wife just called and reserved the room."

Wick would have blinked in surprise if he could.

Looking at the little girl she had to smile. "Going to a party?"

"Wedding actually," Wick stared off. "My little princess is going to be the flower girl." He tried to reach for his wallet, but Mikki refused to let go. In an awkward maneuver with his left hand, he retrieved his wallet from the left inside pocket of his jacket and put it on the counter.

"I'm sure she'll do great." The clerk nodded as the entry came up. "She's got your eyes."

Mikiko beamed, playing pretend was fun.

Wick mechanically chuckled. "But she's got her mother's face."

The clerk started programming the key-cards. "Room 608. So where's your luggage?"

"I lost the coin toss. So my wife's got them. Can you leave a key for her? Her name's Jane," Wick said distantly, almost mechanically.

"You lost?" the clerk said as she made a note and programmed a spar key card.

Wick leaned in. "Our little princess is a bit... overdressed, and she gets fussy when we try to make her take her princess crown off."

"You said I could dress nice," Mikiko concentrated on pouting and making sure they kept holding hands.

Wick swiveled his head down to the girl? "You can't look better than the bride, Dear."

Mikiko tilted her head. "Why not?" she innocently asked. She was a princess.

Wick turned to the clerk. "See? I guess it's our fault, we do spoil her."

The clerk held her tongue. "Well, enjoy your stay, and enjoy the wedding."

"Thanks." Wick said accepting the keys.

"I wish it was my wedding," Mikiko blurted before Wick led her away towards the elevators.

Once inside the elevator car, Mikiko studied the reflection in the polished doors. She found herself smiling. Startled at her stomach growling, she almost let go of her prince's limp hand. Making sure she still had him, she exited the elevator.

There was a hallway to the left, right, and straight in front of her. Mikiko looked to either side. The left hallway was dim and full of shadows; the right had a small lounge halfway down its length.

Glancing back to the left, she let Wick take her down the center hallway towards the room. He inserted the key-card and the lock clicked open.

The door closed and Mikiko locked it and then pulled off her hair bow. The immense silken ornament came off and her hair fell and spilled all around her to the point where it tumbled to the floor. Letting go of her prince she pinned the bow to the door and turned around.

Life returned to Wick's eyes and his hands twitched, suddenly feeling empty. He looked down at the little girl in shock. He now saw that her dress was too much, even for a wedding. Now reaching to the floor, her hair was far too long. Her jewelry was too much, especially that thing around her neck. And her teeth...

Mikiko licked her fangs. "Can you help me? Please?"

Wick looked around the hotel room. "How did I get here? What are you?" he stepped back.

"I'm lost and I'm hungry."

"Stay back!" Wick pulled out his phone but it was completely dead.

Mikiko frowned. "You tricked me. You said you were going to help me. You're not very nice." The silver threads on her dress flashed green before pulsing a salmon pink.

Wick screamed as the girl's hair whipped out. Four sections grew and wrapped around each of his limbs. Feeling as strong as cable, the two on his legs brought him to his knees, while the other pair secured his arms behind his back.

Mikiko's tongue ran over her lips as she stepped forward. "You may not be a Prince, but you still taste lovely." Another set of tresses rose, wrapped around the top of his head and turned it to one side, exposing his neck.

Eyes wide at the slowly approaching figure, fear and powerlessness flooded into the man. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Thrashing against his bonds, Wick wondered why she stopped holding his hand. If her touch could turn him into a puppet, then why let go?

His answer came when her fangs sunk into his neck and he felt his fear, his confusion, his anxiety, all of it, just drained away. His screaming stopped. His mind dulled. More tendrils of hair wrapped around his body and begin to squeeze. Soon his eyes were covered in the pink tendrils and Wick went limp

Eyes closed and rapt at the stream of sweet and savory flavors, Mikiko continued to feed, her choker flared and soaked in the energy. Soon her constricting hair slackened and Wick's limp body tumbled to the floor

She opened her eyes and her hair sprang back. A pink coil cloud fell into place around her. Smiling, she noticed her tresses were a bit thicker and extend further around her in almost smug drifts.

Gazing down at the crumpled man, Mikiko felt... full. Her hands shook and horror knotted in her stomach, making her feel nauseous. She wiped at her lips, relieved to find no blood straining them. Then her temples stung and pride and euphoria flowed through her as her choker sparkled.

Stepping over the unconsumed man in the now rumpled suit she made her way to the bathroom. She pulled off her gloves. Looking at her scandalously bare arms, she then looked around the hotel room, just to make sure the shades were closed, that the bow still generating a privacy field, and that her "prince" was still asleep.

Looking back at the mirror, she idly patted her belly, which had grown. Putting her gloves on the sink, she closed the door and slipped out of her dress. Carefully hanging her prettier-gown she made her way to the toilet where her hair obliged her and got out of the way. Pulling down a pair of gold crown and pink heart patterned underwear she giggled for the duration.

"My tinkle's pink," she laughed as she washed her pink manicured hands in the sink. Her forehead tingled. "No, I'm a big girl. Proper princesses don't talk like that," she mechanically recited.

Immediately after her hands dried she slipped her gloves back on. She nodded at her reflection and patted her tummy. At least she wasn't hungry anymore. She squirmed back into her gown and sealed it around her. Now she felt almost complete.

After fluffing her hair, Mikiko inspected her face. She sighed in relief; her makeup was still perfect. She hoped that Oneesama would give her more lessons. She stepped out of the bathroom and paused.

Sprawled out, Wick groaned.

Licking her lips, the pink princess stepped forward. Then her tongue paused over the point of one of her fangs. She stopped and shook her head. Pink ringlets swirled about.

Concentrating, she forced her hair into four thick tendrils. Two pulled back the bed sheets while the others picked up his body and gently deposited the man onto the bed. Mikiko stepped over to the sleeping man. Her stomach gurgled. Her eyes were drawn to his neck, but when she leaned over she kissed his forehead.

"It's okay. You really were a nice man," she rose and looked sad for a moment. "You just picked the wrong girl to trust."

Mikiko took her bow off the door and pinned up her hair. She sighed, as much as she loved her hair's true length she was going outside and it was best to keep it off the dirty ground.

Unlocking the door, she stepped through. And noticed how both ends of the lacey bow brushed against the door jam. She giggled at that, thoughts about Wick being quickly forgotten. Once outside she tapped one of the sequins sewn into the bow's edges and went down the hallway.

The elderly couple in the elevator only gave a few compliments to Mikiko during the ride, and the female desk clerk simply gave a vapid wave. Everyone else simply stepped out of the confidently striding girl's way.

Outside, she inhaled and smiled. Giving her belly a discrete pat she found a crosswalk and stepped to the curb. After nearly a minute of stilled indecision, she relented and looked for a window where she could cross safely. She could feel Oneesama and wanted to tell her all about this adventure. On the other side she cheerfully crossed the sidewalk and entered the park. Finding the right path, she saw an open briefcase lying on the grass and giggled: not a prince, but tasty.

She walked down the path and concentrated on keeping her strides proper. The trees grew closer and the shadows increased and after a few busy minutes Mikiko smiled in recognition. Straight ahead of her was home.

And there sitting on the deck with her laptop was... Mikiko blinked. It looked like Oneesan; she had short jet-black hair and a pale face that looked just like hers. Oneesan was also wearing a black dress instead of pants and a blouse, but changing clothes was far less amiss than gaining pale skin and a beauty mark. Mikiko frowned. Did Oneesama look like that? She was pretty sure her eyes were a different color and shape, and that her hair was longer.

The woman at the laptop looked up, and in a flash her face had shifted. Mikiko smiled. That was Oneesama! Euphoric, Mikiko skipped as fast as she could. Smirking, Rebecca closed her computer's screen and walked down the stairs from the porch to the yard.

"Did you have an adventure?" she asked the incoming pinkness.

Mikiko jumped up and wrapped her arms around Rebecca, nearly enveloping the taller girl in lace and pink hair "Oneesama! I was in this weird city! I was lost, but then this prince-but-not-really-a-prince helped me, but he was clueless!"

"My my," Rebecca returned the hug. "And what did you do to the pretend-prince?"

Mikiko giggled. "He wouldn't help me be un-lost so he helped me be un-hungry. Why are boys so clueless?"

Aware of the hair embracing her, Rebecca gave the girl another hug. "They just are Miki-chan," Rebecca laughed.

Mikiko frowned. Something was still bothering her. "Did you change your clothes?"

Rebecca looked down at herself. "Ah. Just some magic. Minor stuff." She leaned over and tapped at her keyboard. The dress shifted back into a pair of pants and matching blouse.

"Oh wow!" Mikiko clapped her hands. "Now we can both have gowns."

"As you say," Rebecca smiled thinly. "Still... I'm glad you had fun, but next time you get lost I want you to tell me."

Releasing her Oneesama, Mikiko pouted. "But I don't have a phone."

Rebecca suppressed a chuckle at her Princesses' ignorance. "I can give you something better."

Mikiko's eyes lit up. "What is it?"

"I'll show you." Rebecca put an arm around Mikiko and led her into the house, pausing to pick up her laptop. She then pulled her... sister down a hallway and to a pair of metallic doors that slid aside.

"An elevator?" Mikiko asked as her shoes squeaked on the lift's tile floor.

"Yes, to my workshop," Rebecca keyed a pass code into the pad next to the door and hit the button for the middle subbasement. The doors hissed closed and the lift began to descend.

When they opened again, the pink-haired girl's eyes widened as she stepped into the vast room.  
"Wow, it's a secret hideout!" Mikiko looked around the cavernous subterranean hanger. The room stretched into the distance, ending at several steel doors that sprouted from a semicircular end wall at the far end.

The side Mikiko and Rebecca walked down had several lab stations, machine tools, a personal elevator and side rooms for material stock one large warehouse for common items and a smaller vault for... rarer materials.

After glancing at the ranks of mecha and smaller robots that lined the walls, Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it is," she admitted arms clasped behind her back.

"Just like a super-villain!"

Rebecca tilted her head.

"Of course you're not, I mean Rose is the one with all the destructive and crazy–"

The black-haired teen nodded. "Come," she said leading the pink girl to a workbench.

Seeing the object on the workbench, Mikiko stopped. It was a white lace parasol with pink silk accents. Her jaw set and her hands shook. "That's mine."

Rebecca's expression froze.

Mikiko shook her head and blinked. "Sorry Oneechan. Is -is that for me?" she asked wide-eyed.

Rebecca smirked and hefted the parasol. "Of course, who else's would it be?"

"You're the best!" Mikiko chirped as she was handed the umbrella. Seeing how Oneesama struggled with it, Mikiko feared that it would n too heavy. Instead the parasol seemed to almost float in her hand.

"Oh, so pretty." Mikiko's finger reached for the ridged golden button above the grip but stopped when a stabbing pain shot through her temples. Instead she went for the smooth silver button below the gold one. There was no pain that time. The parasol popped open shading the small girl behind silk and scalloped lace trim.

Rebecca picked up a PDA and a headset from an adjacent workstation. "Having fun?" Typing in a few codes, she led the girl down towards the center of the hanger.

Mikiko twirled the parasol at her shoulder. "Yup!"

"Good." Rebecca tapped the screen and a set of blast doors descended, sealing the motor-pool off from the laboratory section.

Mikiko's eyes darted around the room as the various robots started to activate. "Oneesama..." she looked back and saw Rebecca walking away towards one of the darkened corners of the hanger.

Partially obscured by shadow, Rebecca turned around. "Yes?"

"What's going on?"

"You had a snack, you should have plenty of energy for playtime." Rebecca's broad white smile contrasted greatly with her darkened visage.

Mikiko blinked and then shrieked when several pumpkin sized metallic spiders dropped down around her. "What's going on?" she asked as they encircled her.

"Just one of the classics," the lady of shadows assured as she moved her PDA's stylus.

The eight robotic arachnids raised their foremost legs and spikes popped out, and with an electronic screech, they rushed the small princess. Mikiko shrieked and her hair fanned out. The three spiders behind her were swamped and crushed before her hair split, split again, and whipping forward on either side speared four more robots and the steel plating beneath them.

Straight in front of Mikiko, the remaining spider leapt at her face. Eyes wide and her temples throbbing she screamed. Her choker flashing, she slammed her parasol down smashing the spider into a pile of metal and thin oil.

"Very good!" Rebecca shouted, making a couple of notes on the subject's performance.

Mikiko blushed with pride and eyed the shattered robots. "This is fun," she gasped. A mangled spider-half tried to crawl towards her and she stomped down on it with one of her patent-leather shoes. The pink haired girl grinned at the satisfying crunch.

Rebecca cocked an eyebrow at that and made another note. "Glad you enjoy it." She then tapped her PDA.

Before Mikiko could respond the ceiling opened again and for several seconds it rained metallic spiders. Unlike before, they did not line up and instead rushed Mikiko in a seething wave.

Facing the two-score swarm, Mikiko felt a strange fluttering in her stomach and a growing sense of pride. Her hair streamed out and she tightened the grip on her parasol; she would not let Oneesama down.

Smiling, Rebecca watched as the little girl darted forward. Her hair floated around her in a pink nimbus crushing and impaling any robot that tried to attack from behind or above. In front Mikiko used her parasol like a club, brutally gleefully smashing anything within reach. Her choker flared as bright as a furnace. The crystal orb burning the emotional energy it had siphoned off since Mikiko's creation.

As the spiders got denser her hair grew thicker. The coils thrashed through the mass throwing some spiders into others and trying to create as much of a mess as possible.

Mikiko had cleared most of the spiders when one of the human-sized robots stepped forward and raised its arm. A red beam shot out of the energy canon on its wrist and sped towards her.

Feeling a draining in her guts and her neck, Mikiko turned just to see an inch-thick red beam shoot straight at her and then right before it hit curve and race past. Spinning, she raised her parasol and this time the pressure from her tiara practically begged her to press the gold button.

Depressing the ridged key, she almost giggled when a stream of puffy-swollen hearts raced out of the end. She saw the hearts hit and explode in a spray of pink glitter that tore the robot apart, and rained sparkles down onto the metal floor where they began to merrily eat through steel platting.

That was when she began to giggle, though it soon devolved to a mad cackling noise.

Another group of man-sized robots lumbered towards her. Their arms raised and bright red beams shot out and bent. Lances of particle beams got within two meters of the girl before they twisted, curving as if the girl were embedded within some giant lens.

Mikiko for her part simply ran towards them with a gleefully homicidal expression. She did not notice the bending of the lasers; she simply marveled at how bad their aim was.

Leaping among the torn and disintegrating robots, she smirked as her hair lashed out, tearing limbs and piercing torsos. Bashing aside one robot with her parasol revealed a clear shot and allowed her to disintegrate another in a cloud of exploding hearts and acid glitter.

Suddenly a long silver streak shot from behind also bent away when it got within a few feet of the girl. Mikiko turned and saw a twenty-five foot tall, cape-wearing, mecha lumber towards her.

The guymelef retracted its liquid blade and reconfigured it into a sword shape and swung down at the girl. Mikiko shrieked as her hair wove into a shield and caught the blade. She then hit the silver button on her parasol opening it up. A pink glow formed on the underside of the umbrella and it jerked forward pulling the girl out from under the mecha and up into the air.

Her umbrella yanked her up to just below the ceiling before it cut out and she started to float down. The mecha realigned itself and shot another silver liquid lance. Mikiko shrieked as her hair moved to shield her face. The quicksilver blade hammed the cocoon of hair and started to pry through, but by that time Mikiko had landed.

The umbrella closed with a snap and Mikiko leveled it and fired, sending a stream of corrosive hearts at the robot. Happily squealing as it began to dissolve, Mikiko only felt a tickle on her scalp when her hair rushed up to shield her back.

The arm from a second mecha slammed into her hair and the equilibrium held for a bare moment, then her tresses gave way and she was knocked to the ground. She let go and screamed in primal fear. Her forearm hit a dismembered spider-bot leg and tore open on the bent blade.

Crying at the sharp pain she turned and saw the mecha's arm held above her, statue still. Holding her dripping arm, she looked around and saw that the other robots had stopped as well. Her eyes went down and she bit her lip at the pinkish blood oozing out between her fingers. Despite her dress' protection, her knees had been scratched. Tears started spilling down her cheeks adding to the liquid leaks.

"Oneesama!" Mikiko cried looking up as Rebecca rushed towards her.

Stopping before the girl, Rebecca's eyes narrowed for a brief moment. She looked around the cavernous room and exhaled. Looking at the destruction she slowly smiled.

"Not bad," Rebecca admitted as she helped Mikiko to her feet. She looked at the pale blood coming out of the cut on Mikiko arm and split lip. She nodded.

"I... I didn't win," Mikiko said as she squeezed her knees together and blushed in embarrassment. She wiped at her eyes. She was a Princess.

"No, but you fought harder than I expected you to," Rebecca leaned down and hugged the little girl before taking her hand and leading her back to the elevator at the side of the hanger.

Mikiko sniffed. She was a big girl; she was not supposed to cry. Little girls cried. Little girls screamed and wet themselves in fear. She looked down and blushed in shame. At least her dress had more than enough layers. Though it was covered in oil and pink blood. Though the bleeding had stopped.

Rebecca called the elevator. "How about you go to your room and have a nice bubble bath and a nap? I'm sure you'd like to change into something more comfortable," Rebecca added with a vicious little smile.

"My... room?" Mikiko's eyes widened. She could not believe her luck.

"You relax while I cleanup this little mess you made," Rebecca said with another smirk. "And I'll have another surprise for you later tonight. One you might like better than your parasol," she added with a laugh.

As the doors closed, Mikiko looked down and realized that she was still clutching her parasol to the point where her knuckles had turned white.

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Picking up a book, Ranma reclined the back to a chair in her garden and took a more relaxed stance. The chair was made of out polished rosewood with red cushions. She wore a white blouse with rose buttons and a pair of green shorts.

Allison stood up from her chair. She wore her Sailor Nightshade gear. The blonde picked up a leather folder that rested on the table between the seats. On the left side was a piece of white plastic that displayed a dossier, history, and contact information. On the right was a slowly rotating image of a young woman dressed in a white dress trimmed with black roses and bits of gold. She had glossy black hair and bore a haughty, almost mad, expression.

Allison's eyes twinkled as she looked over the report.

"Well? Do we have Kodachi?" Ranma asked.

The blonde snapped the folder closed. "I think you know just what buttons to push."

"Right," Ranma undid her strappy sandals and tossed them next to her chair's footstool.

"You've got something she wants."

Ranma looked up.

"Not that," Allison waved her hand. "I mean the roses. You're the one that pulled the plug on seducing her." The blonde sighed. "Which just leaves us with your little business."

"I think I can grow and sell rose seeds and plants."

Allison smirked. "But can you get a high enough profile to attract her attention?" she asked tapping the folder. "Little 'dachi did make it into the World Garden Competition in Hamamatsu."

"Junior division."

"She was what fourteen?"

"And she cheated"

"Less than she does for gymnastics," Allison leaned forward. "Look Princess, I know spoiled loner girls. Kodachi's crazy; she's also crazy, crazy serious, about roses. You're really doing to have to build your brand if you want to catch her eye."

"I know." Ranma nodded. "I've figured out where she gets her cultivars and who her suppliers are."

"And her rivals?"

The redhead smirked. "Of course. And who their suppliers are."

"My little Princess is learning how to exploit jealousy."

Ranma allowed herself to blush. "I've still got to build the supply chain, but I can grow stock to fill out orders on demand."

Allison nodded. "Speaking of stock... I've notice your fairies keep running off with little rosebushes."

The Princess gave an innocent smile. She leaned forward and picked up a book from the pile on the footstool while her bare legs had flopped down next to it.

"If you tell me I'll go and stop bothering you."

"You're not bothering me," Ranma said resuming her place.

Allison stepped closer and loomed over the redhead. "If you don't tell me, I'll start."

Ranma closed the book. "Fine. It's for that sen-"

"Sensor network you're building around town," Allison completed in near sync with the flustered Ranma.

The redhead glared.

The blonde looked smug. "You're smart Princess but you're not as smart as you think you are."

"You guys know then?"

"Sure, Dan noticed when his little fairy friend vanished instead of helping him in the garage. Sarah figured that you wouldn't waste actual fairies on your 'fairy spy network'. Erika simply looked at the signals traffic on your network."

Ranma grumbled. "And you?"

Allison shrugged. "It's the kind of sneaky thing I'd do. Besides you basically told us at your last little tea party."

Ranma picked up her book.

"Yup, that's all!" Allison began walking away. She then turned around. "If you're gonna do something stupid make sure it's fun at least!"

The redhead exhaled and resumed reading. Her toes idly dug into the dirt as she read The Demon-Haunted World, a little smile touched the corners of her lips.

As she paged through the book part of her concentrated on the sensor nodes her fairies were distributing. Allison was right. She could do more to conceal the network's signals. She also began running simulations on how to best distribute her roses, and what colors and petal shapes would sell the best, especially to the best clients.

It was fairly light, but absorbing work, and gave something to occupy her mind as she continued to read as she wriggled her feet against the dirt around the chair.

She could feel the roots of her plants growing, and wondered on the type of grass that would work best. Like slipping on a pair of well-worn shoes, she idly slipped into a higher connection with her garden.

Several minutes later a shadow crossed over the book. Someone gave an annoyed sigh.

"Hello Sarah," Ranma said before she looked up. She closed the book and crossed her hands over it.

"What are you doing?" Sarah demanded as she walked back to the footstool and kicked one of Ranma's sandals.

"Allison told you about our Kodachi plan?"

"No, this isn't about your, so well thought out, plot to ingratiate yourself with one of the most obsessive and least stable people from your old life." The younger redhead rolled her eyes.

"She's well connected, but a known crackpot. She never figured out the whole gender thing, so any disguise will be extra effective against her. Add in her love for roses and I've got plenty of levers against her."

"Yeah its the roses, I'm worried about." Sarah kicked the other sandal and it landed on Ranma's ankles...

The sandal hit just above the ground line about where Ranma's flesh turned green and then brown before disappearing under the dirt. The princess flushed and the knotted mass of roots squirmed and shifted. She then lifted her legs and a pair of of dainty bare feet came free.

Sarah crossed her arms under her chest.

"A hard-line connection is more secure and has a higher bit-rate," Ranma weakly said.

"You're asking me to be your anchor."

"I am already a dryad."

"Just jumping off the transhuman slippery slope isn't smart. Not when you're doing it just to get a bit more bandwidth. Aren't you scared of the risks of what you're becoming? What happens if you just let go?"

Ranma looked down. "Is it really that bad?"

Sarah cracked a smile. "It's no 'Impress Kasumi with full plant-girl drag.' "

Smiling Ranma met Sarah's eyes. "It's also no 'Impress Kasumi with cyber-girl drag.' "

Crouching down, Sarah took her sister's hand.

"It's okay I–" Ranma stopped and wriggled her toes. "No, I think I have it under control. I can bring myself back." She returned the grip. "Thanks Sarah."

"I know you think you're invincible and the best."

Ranma gave a cocky smile.

"But so do the rest of us. And we've all be burned before."

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West of Lockridge lies Teakettle ridge, a finger of land jutting out of the mountains that crossed the area. Originally home to a US Army fort, the ridge itself consisted of a flat plateau that ended on abrupt cliffs.

Covering the plateau were the offices, garages, and machine shops of Winston Industrial Container, a company specializing in demolitions, salvage, and industrial dumpster rental and disposal.

A dozen buildings, some of them stone dating back to the fort days, covered the plateau forming a compound that edged into castle territory. Virtually a town unto itself, complete with its own shops, smiths, restaurant and bar, grocers, physical plant, and even a theater and a small two-lane bowling alley.

With its main offices in Cheyenne, most of the company's staff were unfamiliar with Calash and only knew of Lockridge as one of those isolated mountain communities that dotted the vast expanse of Wyoming.

However there were those in the company who saw the potential in magic and encouraged development of the Calash code. Officially the company was entirely mundane, except for the combat templates that the company's special security team volunteered for and the "research" being conducted beneath the Teakettle compound.

Beneath the South Building, the head of security Dave Albert waited for his younger cousin to lock up a bare room that had served as an impromptu workshop. Balancing a rough orange pot in one hand, Ned pocketed his keys.

The brown-haired teen sighed and shoved the pot into Dave's surprised hands. A bit of dirt spilled onto his red-trimmed, grey jumpsuit and the little rosebush shook and a couple of leaves fell off. There was a brief flash of silver that faded as the bush shook. He eyed the silver flakes. He wished he had been able to collect more of them, but the plant was enough trouble as it was.

The lankier man almost smiled in relief, then the bush, which had been roughly potted, tilted and a rosebud snapped off and fell.

"Shit." Ned glanced down the hall, then back at the locked door.

Dave watched them hit the tile floor and frowned. "I suppose I should clean this up." Making sure the plant stayed balanced he hit his radio.

"Yeah, sooner would be better." Ned glanced at his watch, fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the room again. "Good idea, call your men. But first..." Ned opened the door, ran into the room, and after rummaging on a shelf came back with a set of pliers and a mason jar.

Careful not to touch the rosebud with his hands he slipped it into the jar, sealed it, and then left it on the floor. "Paranoid enough for you?"

"It's a start." The Security Chief nodded.

"Well, don't do anything too aggressive. We wouldn't want our guest to get angry," Ned said as he put his hand into his pocket. The thumb drive was still there. At least he still had some leverage.

Dave gave a thin smile and went back to his radio.

Leather coat flying out behind him, Ned ran down the corridor, up a flight of stairs, across a flagstone courtyard, and into a building that butted right next to the edge of the cliff. The compound's restaurant and bar were in this building, with the bar in the back and the restaurant half a story lower. Both rooms were done with heavy wood beams and iron chandeliers. However, while the ceiling was low and rustic in the bar, the restaurant was airy and sweeping. It was made even more so by the view offered by the bank of tall windows on the Western side of the room. Beyond the glass was a nearly sheer drop of several hundred feet and a vast vista of the valley below.

Glancing out the large windows, he could see the forests thin out as the land descended before giving way to scrub and grasslands. Though even the low lying areas were still over six thousand feet in altitude. Beyond that the high prairie gave way to almost desert-like desolation out beyond range of the magical sumps.

The room itself was mostly empty. A few drivers and welders were sitting at a table near the stairs having a late lunch while a table by the bar had some sober-looking men in suits who had to be from the legal department.

Ned ignored them and concentrated on the young woman sitting by herself enjoying the view. The windows did not run from floor to ceiling. They were mounted atop a thick four foot tall stone wall. Some heavy oak tables were pressed against the wall and gave seating with a prime view.

She wore a cream-colored blouse with red piping and embroidered roses, a loosely tied deep green silk neckerchief, and a long red skirt with a swirling vine pattern that went down to her shins. A pair of shiny high heeled leather boots continued the Western theme. Their elaborate tooled pattern and appliqué along their sides continued the rose theme as well. A tiny green leather clutch purse sat on the table, looking like some kind of circular seed pod.

Long red hair that tumbled down both sides of her right shoulder after being pulled back by a cluster of white roses above her right ear. She wore wide silver bracelets and there were flashes of gold and jade at her ears.

Glossy red two-tone, lacquered, but short fingernails idly drummed the table in a repeating pattern. Two taps, pause, three taps, pause, five taps, pause, seven taps, pause, and then back down to five, three, and two where she started the cycle again.

"Miss O'Neil, I trust I didn't keep you waiting?" Ned bowed his head slightly.

"Mister Winston," Ranma smiled and pulled out the chair next to her.

"To what do I owe the honor of gracing your presence?" Ned took his seat and studied the woman. She had smiled approvingly and her blue eyes had even warmed as she did it, but that distant, calculating nature had never left.

"My, so polite. It's just a few small details. You sister said you wanted to talk to me, but alas we never met at school so, I felt we should-" She then paused for exactly half a second. "Catch up. How have your projects gone? I recall you had some promising power systems research."

Her speech was perfectly crisp and polite, but her eyes were still boring through... everything. When she looked out the window, Ned knew she was scanning for threats and studying the magical sumps and ley-lines that ran across the valley and indeed circled the entire basin.

He wondered how much she could see; if she could see the whole apparatus. The thousands of miles of geomancy that that funneled energy from the bones of the Rockies. Power nudged along ley-lines: North from Central America, South from Alaska and all the points between, and finally pumped right here, to the Great Divide Basin. An area that should have been harsh and desolate was, thanks to the Town Father's manipulation of the ley-lines and construction of the pumps to channel that energy, full of vibrant vitality.

And there was enough power for Calash to function which allowed Lockridge to exist.

Bringing in magic changed the basin; the harnessed energy pulled in whole weather systems which brought water that supported an abundance of life. When she looked at him, he got the same feeling. It was rather like chatting with the glassy sensor cone of an air-to-air missile. Though one with a more pleasing, if heavily floral, scent.

With unnatural grace, she cocked her head and blinked her large almond-shaped eyes. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"Not at all, it's just been distracting," Ned stated. Her coming here and Dave finding that rose could not have been a coincidence. And despite the obscuring hair, he was pretty sure her ears were not pointed, but he did know that she had been creating fairy-shaped golems. Which was close enough, she certainly had the near-inhumanity of the fae. "And yes, I've had some progress on power systems." He made a point of looking around the room. "Did you come alone? I don't see the rest of the gang."

"I don't need to have them babysit me. I can go out on my own," she said in an irritated huff.

Feeling the wave of pressure emanate from her, Ned forced his hands to stay on the table, where she could see them. "I didn't intend otherwise."

"Pardon me for jumping to conclusions." Recrossing her legs so she faced him straight on, Rose leaned forward. "You do think, I _can_ handle myself. Right?"

Ned looked down; it seemed that right below his nose was the carved ruby rose that fronted the silver ring of her neckerchief clasp. Below that spilled the deep green of the scarf itself, which seemed to be mere garnish for the way her curves filled out the cream-colored blouse.

"From what I've seen?" Ned asked making a point to open his coat and look inside. He pulled out a pill bottle and downed a couple.

Ranma's hand darted out and snatched the bottle. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's for stress."

The redhead eyed the pills. "No. I'd say these augment your template by speeding up the damage recovery process." Her eyes widened. "Ah, they do numb the body to pain and other distractions. A preventative too. Expecting a fight?"

"I do have sensitive information. The truth will make someone angry."

Ranma raised an eyebrow but handed the bottle back.

"I'm not worried about you, well... I'd be foolish to assume you couldn't handle yourself. But someone will be angry that I exposed her secret."

Ranma smiled.

"But, from your own experience you would have to concede that there are things you don't know about."

Ranma nodded. "That is part of why I came here. My apologies, if I seem too forward," she said, finally leaning back.

Keeping his face controlled, Ned looked at Rose and paused. He knew he had to tell her; it was the right thing to do, she deserved to know. And... she was rapidly becoming a power-player. One who was building her own network of spies and snitches. It was better to earn some currency by telling her a secret now, instead of waiting for her to ferret it out on her own.

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked as she put her hand on Ned's shoulder. A slight smile briefly flickered across her face. He did look pretty cute when he was trying to hide his feelings. Rose blinked, ahead of schedule, and filled that response for separate analysis. Sure, she could _objectively_ analyze his appeal, but this seemed different. She kept her hand there; she was still in full control.

Ned frowned. It was frightening how well she could read him. Part of him wondered if she could read his thoughts. Though if she could do that, she was even more skilled at controlling her reactions than he initially suspected.

"Well?" Rose asked raising the gentle arcs to her precisely dimensioned eyebrows. "You've got my attention."

Ned figured he should feel flattered, but he shuddered at the thought. He wondered if it was like saying a unique insect should feel flattered at an etymologist's attention.

He then noticed that her manicured hand had not left his shoulder. Each nail was red but drawn on the center was little rose done in a slightly lighter shade of red. "It's someone I know, I think... I think she's up to something." Ned sighed.

"Do tell?" Rose asked as she uncrossed her legs, and keeping her knees together, pointed her legs past the table and to Ned's left. The new position moved her slightly closer to him. Her body was reacting in such a fascinating way. Keeping one hand on his shoulder she let the other gently fall to her lap. She could see why Kasumi liked her books so much, this stuff _was_ fun!

"Well, I don't want to smear this girl. She's always been private, and weird." Ned lamely smiled, but could not help from noticing Rose use her free hand to smooth out her white dress.

The princess primly nodded. "She's your friend, and you don't want to betray her, especially if she's done nothing but be odd." She was glad for her new form. Ranma Saotome could never have been this contained, but Princess Ranma Rose O'Neil had no problem, even if Ned was a very handsome boy.

Ned stopped to look at the little smile her painted lips had formed. Two could play this game. Though it was unsettling how she blinked at such regular intervals, as if she were keeping time.

"There's also trusting you," he said as he reached out and put his hand over the one she had demurely resting in her lap. Her almost-surprised blush was reward enough. "We have gotten to know each other a bit more."

"You're very right," Rose said coquettishly as she moved the hand he held to her chest. With her other hand, she squeezed his shoulder and gently massaged the skin beneath his coat.

Ned found his fingers running over the curve of her breasts. First he felt the mixture of smooth silk and lace embroidery. "Well... yes... I think I have to tell you," he coughed, trying not to put too much pressure onto her breasts. He felt his cheeks heat up and was glad for the pills. They had given him some measure of control.

Rose smiled and slipped her hand out and then pushed Ned's down when he tried to pull it off her chest. She then switched to massaging Ned's far shoulder and leaned over and let some of her hair fall over him. "I have a confession. This is the first time I've actually had some calm and fun flirting," she whispered into his ear.

Ned slowly nodded and moved his hand to better hold her torso, specifically the side of her chest. "it's been a while for me too but... this isn't just flirting," he gently admitted, without letting go. While he did not want to get the sexually tense princess mad, and while he was afraid of her distant, alien power, she _was_ a very beautiful woman throwing herself at him.

Rose blinked her eyelashes fluttering briefly. "So? Who is it?"

"Well... there's what you'll do with this information."

"Get revenge," the redhead flatly said. "You know that."

"But when? Will you run out and strike recklessly against her?

"Of course not," Rose smoothly said. "I'm well aware of the threat she poses."

"Are you?"

Moving in closer she gave a light laugh. "She did try to take over my body; I did fight her off."

"Yes, that's exactly it. You think your safe, yes? That she can't get to you."

"That is the entire reason I'm like this now, dear Ned," Rose reminded, but part of her was concerned. Had she grown complacent? Was she underestimating the woman that had, arguably, created her?

"Don't think you're immune. She'd have other ways to get to you. Maybe even brute force."

"Your concern is sweet," Rose said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I promise I won't do something reckless."

Ned knew he was being played, but what did it matter? He would have told her anyway. This way he got some boob. "Rebecca. Rebecca Langley."

Rebecca, Allison's old girlfriend, in the top three of the list of suspects Sarah, Dan and the others had drawn up. It was also the next place she was going to plant her roses around. Rose wanted to give a predatory grin, she wanted to make her eyes flash, she wanted to punch the table in victory, she wanted to jump through the window and fly to Rebecca's house and level the place.

Instead she smiled a bit more, flushed her cheeks slightly, and started doing some discrete searches. She had dug into the backgrounds of everyone on the suspect list, but if this Rebecca was her enemy, then she deserved another look.

Just because Ned was not the normal grabby, pinchy, pervert she was used to, did not mean that he was incapable of lying.

"I've got the files on her right here." He said, moving to take hand off her side. The tips of his fingers ran across her breast.

Rose waited for the inevitable squeeze and gave another unscheduled blink when it did not happen. She smiled as he pulled a flash drive out of his pocket, and took her hand off his shoulder and put it on his thigh.

"That's very sweet of you," Rose said before giving him a quick kiss.

Ned returned the kiss. Unlike what he expected her lips were not overly sweet, and only a slight hint of rose scent.

"The password is in two parts. First take the second to last letter of every word of the following sequence: 'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.'

"Then going backwards take the first letter of every word with a prime number of letters. You'll only get one chance to do it. I trust you've got a good memory?"

"Of course," Ranma checked her lip's chromatic settings as she slipped the drive into her purse. Squaring her shoulders, she crossed her legs, shifting back to facing the table. A frown almost flickered across her face, but was quickly cleared away. "Are you counting contractions as one or two words?"

"One of course."

Ranma nodded.

"I suppose..." Looking over her, Ned's mind cleared. "I suppose that leaves the other reasons you came," he said glancing back and seeing Dave at the head of the stairs. A steel cart, bearing an aluminum box, was next to him.

The security chief looked at the stairs, gave a little sigh, straightened his gloves, and picked up the crate. He held it with his left arm outstretched, while keeping his right arm behind him in the small of his back, just above the holster threaded through his jumpsuit's belt.

It reminded Ned of the stance electricians took when working with high voltage. You wore insulated gloves and shoes, but you still kept one hand behind your back. Working with both hands carried the risk of an electrical arc going from one hand to the other, right through the heart.

The lanky man dropped the case onto the table, nearly clipping Ranma's purse.

Looking up, Ned's glare died when he saw Dave Nelson's cold expression.

The Security Chief stepped back and gave the redhead a cut nod.

Ranma coughed and flicked her purse a couple inches away from the crate.

"You know what's inside." Ned glanced back up the stairs. He could see a handful of Dave's men hanging back near the bar. Shaking his head, he turned and looked out the window. He thought he saw a glint of light but...

Ned shook his head and scanned again.

"More of your friends?" Ranma lightly asked.

"Thankfully, no. I half expected Julie to be out there stomping in her Eva."

Ranma blinked. "She's family," she smoothly said, instantly recovering. "He's family too," she nodded to Dave. "I understand family getting protective, even recklessly so."

Ned smiled, savoring the redhead's moment of shock. As brief as it was, it disproved the sense of omniscience she had been cultivating. He undid the claps and flipped down the aluminum case's clamshell split top.

Seeing the little rosebush Ranma's expression brightened. "You took care of it."

"I examined it." Ned's tone sharpened. "It was on _my_ property."

Ranma reached out and touched one of the rosebuds. "I regret the trespass."

"You regret being caught. That's why you hid it. If you truly regretted the action you would not have done it."

"It wasn't me." Ranma then drummed the table.

Ned scoffed. "Really? Someone else has been planting magic roses. Maybe someone else with an invisible friend."

"Yes, yes. It was a proxy. A familiar planted the bush, at my order," she added after another tiny pause.

Ned's curiosity, and worry, grew. Her facade was crumbling. Something upset her, something beyond having one of her spy-plants discovered. "Well, that's what makes this trespass such a concern. These are far more than a normal plant, not to mention having your little familiars running around. That would make some worry."

"Yes, worry." Reexamining the plant, redhead frowned. "Is this all? I mean, did you capture more?"

"Did you hide more?" Ned leaned forward. "Because I will find them. You hid this one pretty well, but this is **my** compound."

"This was the only one." Ranma looked down. "It looks good though. You didn't really hurt it when you pulled it out."

Ned glanced around the box. There was no mason jar. "A rosebud and some leaves fell off." He looked up to Dave who nodded. "They were destroyed I'm afraid."

She pulled back. "Ah, that's fine then," she said, distantly.

"Is this about the trespass?" Ned leaned back in his chair and caught Dave's eye. The redheads were the more even tempered of the O'Neill clique but even Sarah would fly off into a rage.

"That's fine. You have a legitimate concern about the land holdings put under your care," Ranma stiffly said.

"Right." Ned rubbed his forehead. "You know this whole heir-apparent thing gets pretty old."

Ranma laughed. "As someone who was forced to become a princess you have my sympathies."

Ned winced. It was easy, so very easy, to forget the Rose Princess' past. Especially since she kept so much of it a secret. "Thanks. Do you have other matters you wish to discuss?"

"It is a delicate matter." Rose leaned in. "It's about the Town Fathers."

"What, worried you'll get in trouble?"

Exhaling, Ranma gave a wary nod.

Ned stared. The princess looked... scared. Behind her power, behind what she had become, it was easy to forget that she was still... human. "You live with the Sherriff, ask him."

"While my father is the High-Sheriff, this matter is something more in line with your expertise."

"Ah, so you ask the guy that comes out and builds mechs." Ned looked out the window. "Fair enough. The Town Fathers? As long as they're getting power from the ley-lines they'll be happy. That means two things. Don't screw with the Pumps, and don't call attention to the town."

Ranma gave a nervous smile at the first part. She had examined the Pumps, and was glad that she had not tried to "fiddle" with them.

"That is why I don't go stomping around Cheyenne and why our hacker 'friend' does not abduct random people off the street. Though really... forcing a template on someone is a crime. The Town Fathers would help you." Ned tapped his chin. "But you know this."

She nodded. "Which is why that wasn't my question."

Ned groaned. "Sorry. You could have cut me off."

"You're somewhat cute when you lecture," Ranma stated evenly.

Ned frowned, not sure if she was being sarcastic. She had kissed him earlier, but she was not making any moves now.

"Your expertise is more mercantile."

"Ah."

"If I were to open a business, would the Town Fathers object?"

"Oh dear." Ned rubbed his forehead. "Depends. What'll you be selling?"

Her gaze fell upon the potted plant.

Ned rubbed his forehead. "Real roses, magic plant spies, or cute little fairies?" he asked, noting that her expression became a bit more distant with his last word.

Ranma dipped her head in acknowledgement.

"Great." Ned eyed the rose bush. It nearly glowed with vitality, the little buds were perfect. The single blooming flower was an ideal rose. It was beautiful. She would have little problems selling even "mundane" versions of her roses.

"Could be worse," Rose leaned forward and cupped his cheek. "I could be selling smart phones."

Ned kept his face neutral. "Are you trying to antagonize the Town Fathers?"

The redhead pulled back and crossed her legs. "Of course not," she gasped, putting hand to cheek. "My father's an upstanding public servant!"

Ned held back a snort. Sheriff Jack O'Neil was the Town Father's main form of control. He and his men kept the peace.

Most of the time it was all on the up and up but sometimes that meant applying justice without telling the county office over in Green River, let alone the boys in the state capital or, heaven forbid, the Feds.

Ranma simply smiled and waited.

"Right. That's why you're not selling phones. You're selling roses."

The redhead nodded.

Ned looked at the plant. "Why the plants? Why not the flowers?"

Ranma shifted slightly. "The flowers would have to be shipped out very quickly. Better to sell the plants: cuttings, root balls, seeds, the like. That way people can grow their own."

Ned imagined nurseries and gardens full of rose bushes and vines. He could see bouquets being sent around based on her roses, and if some of them happened to have microphones or little organic cameras...

He looked at the confidently smiling redhead and exhaled. "I see."

"Oh? That's encouraging," Ranma ran a hand over the little rosebush. She glanced down at the silver-banded watch on her wrist.

Ned took the hint. "Well, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No need. You've been more than gracious enough given my-" She smiled again. "Intrusion."

"We all make mistakes."

Taking the potted rose in one arm, Ranma stood up.

Ned also rose to his feet. He glanced over her boots, dress, and knotted bandana. It was all a costume. But it _was_ a _lovely_ costume. He met the eyes of Dave's security team and nodded. "May I escort you out?" he asked, offering his left arm.

Eyeing the holster on Ned's right hip, Ranma gave a little laugh. However, she juggled the pot and held out her right arm allowing Ned to lead her away from the table.

Slowing down to navigate up the stairs, she shifted her grip so that her arm and fingers were entwined with his. She got a little shiver from his strong grip and calloused hands. She knew she was stronger, but Ned... she inhaled as they crossed the bar... Ned felt the part.

As they passed the jump-suited guards, Ned felt the redhead sidle closer and closer. Soon her hip was bumping against his with every step. He almost tripped when she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, causing her hair to spill across the back of his jacket.

A few steps outside of the bar and diner, he stopped in one of the compound's many corridors. The redhead's hip slowly swayed into place, draping her against his side. Ned found his grip on her hand tightening.

After a few seconds of that, Ranma gave a thoughtful murmur and straightened herself up and put some sunlight between her and Ned. "I'm starting to see why Allison likes the big mechanical type."

Ned's hand twitched as his fingers slipped. Floundering, he regained his grip and ran a thumb over Ranma's smooth skin and polished nails. He swallowed and started walking again. "I can't speak for Allison's past tastes..." Allison Terson used to date Rebecca Langley, the same girl that Ned suspected of ruining Ranma's life.

"It is a very small town." The redhead nodded as she walked beside him. This time she maintained a bit of distance. "And personally I would not presume either way regarding whether or not her tastes have changed. I first met her after she was already seeing Dan." she added squeezing Ned's hand back.

The mecha mechanic coughed, and the pair shortly reached a broad pair of double doors.

"Now, now," Ranma laughed. "You're getting rather ahead of yourself if you're going to worry about things like that."

As he opened the door, Ned fought down a blush.

Ranma paused and studied his expression. There was something familiar in his awkwardly adrift nervousness. Here was a young man, an expert in his art, a skilled warrior, an heir to his family's legacy and... he was brought low by a pretty woman.

The redhead's smile warmed as she slipped out of his grip and put the hand to his cheek. "Thanks for the information." She then turned and, taking the pot in both hands, walked out into the courtyard.

Ned watched her leave until she crossed the paved lot and slipped through a gateway in the wrought iron fence that divided the compound from the rest of the ridge. She got onto one of the paths that Ned and his men regularly swept.

Ned waited, slipped out of sight behind a cluster of trees, and then he stepped back into the building and closed the door and went straight to his lab. He did not know Ranma terribly well, but he knew enough to be sure that he wanted to be close to his mech... just in case.

Ranma, for her part, had waited a bit longer before she summoned her fairies. Ichi and San sprung up from a grove of trees and shifted back to visibility. The redhead handed San the thumb drive and ordered her to link up with the others and return home. Taking the drive, San activated her stealth and flittered off into the distance.

Expanding the sensor net could wait. Right now there were more important things to do than growing rosebushes. Though...

Ranma looked at the plant in her hands and sighed. She could not destroy it, and she could not put it too close to the Winston compound. She handed the pot to Ichi. Frowning, the tiny green girl strained a bit as her wings sped up and hummed with a louder buzz.

"Good news, Mistress?" Ichi asked as she lugged the pot which was a bit larger across than her arms.

"Oh yes, we might just have a lead onto the person that did all this to me."

Ichi obediently nodded. "What shall we do?"

"You've got a rosebush to replant. Put it next to the one you planted in Site Lambda."

Ichi's little frown returned, but she bowed her head. "And you?"

"I'll be with you shortly, I've got something I need to check out." Ranma closed her eyes and in a flash had shifted into her senshi uniform. Sailor Rose flapped her feathery white wings and looked up at the sky.

"Mistress? This seems a bit too... rash for you."

Rose laughed. "Oh no, far from it."

"Mistress..." Ichi adjusted her arms to better hold the small pot. "Be careful."

Sailor Rose exhaled and adjusted her flight plan. "Of course."

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Flying by Langley's place had been... interesting. She had seen aerial views of the house before, and she had sent her fairies out, but this was the first time she had done a flyby personally. In any other town the obvious signs of a massive underground facility would be suspicious, but not here. It was no more suspicious than Ned's place or... her own. Still, as she flew past the place at a respectful distance, she felt a cold thrill on her spin, despite the place being seemingly empty. Though one of the large doors mounted into the manicured lawn was halfway open.

Folding back her broad feathered wings, Ranma gently touched down on the ridgeline. A mix of broken stone and thin soil crunched under her knee-high, high-heeled boots as she walked down a vague path that meandered from the ridge. Wispy grass and scrubby pine trees dotted this side of the small mountain. A spur off of Teakettle ridge, it was really more of a hill, at least by the area's standards

The wind blew through Sailor Rose's long hair as she took in the view from a more normal perspective. A dozen meters down the slope sat a gnarled little rosebush with a handful of tiny buds. It was currently visible. There was no one near it to trigger its stealth features, and unlike her more "sensitive" plants this one was not kept invisible all the time.

The smaller bush Ned had "given" her was planted right next to it. The pot rested on its side nearby. She tilted her head, further down the slope was a flattened bowl-shaped clearing.

Inside the clearing the dirt had thickened, becoming rich, almost loamy. The grasses were a brighter green and the whole area had a rich vitality. Even the surrounding trees were taller than their neighbors. The edge of the clearing was marked by half a dozen smaller, shorter stones that looked like truncated pillars which were cut off just above their bases. In the center of the clearing was a lumpy stone that looked like a giant slumping granite box. Uneven, and with a slanting top and smoothed sides, the stone bore no markings on its surface.

However, Ranma could feel the power throbbing through the stubby Standing Stones. Her head still cocked to the side, she watched both the rose bush and the geomancy pumping apparatus. Her pleated miniskirt ruffled in the stiff wind but she ignored the cold.

Her head straightened and her eyes flashed. "Ichi?" she asked with relief. An instant later her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. There was no way Ichi could hear her at this distance. _"Ichi what happened? Were there any problems planting the rose?" _she repeated, this time silently transmitting her question to the fairy who had just appeared on her network.

The fairy hesitated, but the connection was strong enough that Ranma could tell that she was at least undamaged and safe. _"No but... I... I got lost,"_ she admitted full of shame.

Ranma blinked and walked in a slow circle as her eyes scanned her surroundings. She resisted the urge to tell Ichi about the impossibility of that. The fairy would already know that. Ichi was nowhere near the edge of Ranma's personal network, let alone the public and commercial bands.

_"Return," _Ranma ordered as she simultaneously got Ichi's location and a brief summary of how her little fairy "got lost". This time she had to keep herself from shouting "impossible". One second Ichi had been fully connected, the next every signal had dropped. It was like the fairy had slipped off the grid.

Ranma swallowed and checked her own connection. She then ordered the fairies back at the garden to alert the rest of the family the instant Ranma herself should drop off network.

There was a light buzzing and Ichi bowed in front of Sailor Rose. The instant Ranma returned the bow the little fairy flew over to her shoulder and nearly curled up by her ear, under her hair.

"Why didn't you retrace your steps?" Ranma asked already knowing the answer.

Ichi had tried exactly that, but to no effect. Worse, much worse, she had been unable to reorient herself. It was like she had been teleported into another patch of forest.

"Ichi, I'm gonna need you to be another pair of eyes, okay?" Ranma asked.

The fairy paused but pulled out of her hiding space and took to the air. She flew a few inches in front of Ranma and faced backwards. This way they could be behind each others' backs. Ichi gave the Rose Princess a quizzical glance.

"I'm not scared."

"Of course not, Princess," Ichi looked up the slope towards the ridgeline. "But perhaps we should get back. That way you can do a full diagnostic," the green fairy helpfully offered.

"Wait," Ranma looked back down at the lone rosebush. It shivered in the wind, and she could feel some strange telemetry it was picking up.

A green bubble bloomed around the bush as a wave of pink hearts rained down. They popped and started to eat into the bubble and the ground around it dissolving grass and stone.

Ranma spread her wings, took to the air, and raced down the slope.

"Princess!" Ichi shouted and then with exasperation activated her stealth mode and took off after her.

Her bracers glowing, Ranma flicked her hand. A green-shafted wand with a white rosebud at the tip appeared. As the rosebud opened it darkened turning emerald green. Just before the bubble collapsed a beam shot out from the wand.

Powered by the beam, the bubble glowed brightly and began to swell. Suddenly, the rain of hearts ceased and a blur of sparkly white ruffles and pink curls slammed down.

Waves of long pink coils corkscrewed into the bubble and tore it apart. The bubble vanished and dainty white leather Mary Janes stomped down, crushing the rosebush.

Still airborne, Ranma stared at the giggling abomination. She looked young, not even at puberty if that, but her pink eyes were wide and wild. Long ringlets of pink hair curled about in a writhing mass that spilled down shoulders, back, and legs covered in lace, ruffles, sequins, and ribbons.

The gown was nominally a shimmering white, but there were so many pink bows, accents and other bits of trim that the whole garment looked the color of fresh insulation. Underneath it all she could spot swirling patterns done in silver thread. Sparkling energy traveled down the threads in reinforcing and warding patterns.

Dainty silk gloves held a big pink parasol on either end, but the girl's attention was on the crushed plant. An overly-made up girlish face that looked too perfect to be anything natural shifted into a sneer. Ranma got a feeling of familiarity, but her memory and facial recognition algorithm had come up empty.

With a mad giggle the pink girl lifted up her leg and gave another stomp. Given the length of the girl's gown, fits like this were the only time Rose could see her shoes and the white stockings she wore. A glowing choker throbbed at her neck and a branching gold crown appeared to pierce into the pink girl's forehead.

Ranma blinked as she felt the presence of several of the Hacker Bitch's mechs decloak around her. Ichi caught up and gave the pink girl a bare glance before turning to the side to where she could both cover Ranma's back and keep an eye on the new girl.

The pink girl looked up and giving a petty little smirk gave a final stomp before giving a deep curtsy. "Princess Rose, it's time for you to come back home," she said her eyes slightly glassy. Her expression cleared. "But we can play a bit first."

"Nuts to this." Ranma's wand, now fully bloomed, turned blood red and a pulsing thin bolt shot right out. The ray sped towards the pink girl and, bent. It twisted and curved, somehow missing the girl entirely and instead sliced through several trees before gouging into the ground.

Sensor data poured in and the redhead analyzed the deflection. Two mechs raised their arms and long liquid metal blades extruded out. Ranma dropped down, dodging both while hitting one with a beam from her wand. One arm was sliced off. The mech stumbled back and as she rushed towards the other one with Ichi at her heels.

Slipping between its blades she kicked the mech in the chest and grabbed for its head. An arm came down, but Ichi flew to the gauntlet at the end, cut through the armor and tore into the controller crystals for the liquid metal.

As that happened, Ranma shoved the wand under its chin and blasted through its head and out the back. Decapitated, the mech tumbled back as its one-armed partner lurched forward.

Eyeing the mech and the fairy, the pink haired girl stepped forward. She lifted her parasol. "These odds just aren't fair." Giving a fanged smile, she depressed a button on the parasol and a spray of pink hearts shot out.

They enveloped the remaining mech and began to dissolve it. The pink haired girl had a moment to prance in delight before a knee high boot slammed into her hip.

The leather boot met resistance and was nearly ensnared by the layers of lace. The skirting also became stiffer, almost like armor. Ranma powered through and the pink girl rolled with the kick stepping inside. Shorter, she had less reach so she cut across with her parasol. The reinforced shaft of the umbrella rang against Ranma's silver bracers.

"You destroy your own mech! What's wrong with you?" Ranma demanded as she matched the pink girl's blows. She had less strength but was faster, and knew to block Ranma's bracer blasts and wand. The redhead also eyed the girl's hair.

"You cavort with the Baron of Steel while your betrothed is alone across the seas! Do you think you deserve such a prince? A naughty Princess like you deserves to be punished!" the girl declared.

"What prince?" Ranma asked with feigned ignorance, with growing dread she had a fair idea who this girl was talking about.

The pink girl's choker flashed and she stabbed forward with the umbrella a stream of hearts shot out.

Familiar with that move, Ranma stepped to the side, grabbed the shaft with one hand, and whipped the girl across the face with her wand.

With renewed strength, the girl wrenched the umbrella out of Ranma's hands, the redhead got even closer until she pressed up against the little girl. Sequins spilled and got caught in her seifuku. Rose elbowed her in the side, but it was like hitting a wooden mannequin. However the pink girl slid back and Ranma grappled and tossed her to the side.

"It always comes back to Nerima doesn't it? Even when all twisted and insane like this?" Sailor Rose brushed some glitter off her uniform as she strode forward.

"You stole my Prince, harlot! Akane was to be mine!" The pink girl shrieked as she stood back up.

"What? Akane's no prince. And what makes you think you get to have him? Her." Rose paused.

The pink girl's choker now glowed like a miniature star. She cracked her neck and gave a fanged smile.

"Ryoga?"

The pink girl gave a moment of angry recognition before her eyes glassed over. "I am Princess Mikiko, for Oneechan I will capture you."

Ranma looked into those mad pink eyes. "Oh crap."

"Naughty Princess Dirty Mouth!" Mikiko cried as she rushed forward.

Ranma fired a pair of beams from her bracers. Unsurprisingly, they were bent around Mikiko's form, missing the girl completely. She brought her arms in to correct, but the deflection angle simply changed, sending the beams out in flailing fans.

Before Mikiko could fire, Ranma spread her wings and flew over another stream of pink hearts. As Ranma gained altitude she reconnected to the rest of her network. She transmitted her status to the rest of her fairies and sent a warning to her family.

Below, the pink girl released the button and the barrage stopped. She then pressed another button and the parasol popped open revealing another collection of pink and lace. Leaning it on one shoulder, the girl shaded herself and looked up at Sailor Rose.

Smirking, Ranma slowly descended. Her navigational system flashed, and for a moment declared she was in Alberta and Peru before giving up the ghost. "My, Rebecca really did a number on you pig boy," the redhead said as she scanned the pink girl.

Mikiko gave a vicious smile. "Oneesama said you were a liar. But I knew that already, even back in school you were bad. You're a naughty princess. I saw you cavorting with that young Baron!"

"At least my paranoia about that window was not unwarranted." Ranma sighed. She had also hoped that Mikiko's reaction to the name Rebecca would give some confirmation as to the Hacker's true identity.

Mikiko twirled her parasol as the redhead touched down. She heard a buzzing off to one side, doubtless one of those fairies that were icky and not at all something that she wanted to ask Oneechan to make for her.

"I presume it's pointless trying to convince you that this 'Oneechan' is using you." Ranma flicked a wand over her fingers. The rose changed from red to orange and back before settling on a deep purple.

The parasol stopped. Mikiko clenched her jaw.

"Sure the Ryoga I knew acted like a spoiled little girl, but even he knew better than to dress up like a giant pink cake. I can see why she made you a little girl. Children are stupider and more easily manipulated, but she stopped too early. This is something I'd expect a six year old to wear."

"I am **not** a little girl!" Mikiko screamed before hunching forward in pain. Giving a glassy-eyed smile, she rose back up. "I mean I'm a big girl," she happily said as a hand went to her temple and rubbed against it at the point where the crown dug into her skin.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at that. Giving a small nod, she stepped forward. "And don't get me started on that hair. I knew Rebecca liked tormenting her experiments with girly getups but this takes the cake. How do you even bathe with that getup?"

"My hair is pretty!" Mikiko screamed as she bolted forward. Once again her skirt stiffened, this time the effect was to raise the layers up giving her legs more room to run.

However, Ranma's attention was on the streamers of curly pink hair in Mikiko's wake. Growing longer, they lifted higher into the air as they curled around themselves.

Waves of little ringlets turned into ropey, tentacle-like coils. They whipped forward and wrapped around Sailor Rose's arms and legs. The redhead struggled and drew her arms inward. Still holding the parasol at her shoulder, Mikiko jumped up and bared her fangs.

Ranma wrenched her arm forward and the pink girl's jaws closed on the metal of her bracer. Her eyes widened in shock and pain. "Ichi now!" Ranma ordered as the hair tentacles grew tighter.

The tiny green fairy flew in and landed, planting her feet on Mikiko's forehead. Knees bent, she grabbed the metal of the girl's crown with both hands and stretched. There was a wet tearing noise. The crown tore free, and Mikiko screamed around her mouth full of metal.

Her hair slackened. Ranma flipped her wrist over and then jabbed the flower at the end of her wand against the crystal at the heart of Mikiko's choker. Petals glowing purple, the rose constricted and began to close around the crystal orb.

Ranma twisted her arm. The rose broke off the end of the wand. She then whipped it across the girl's face. The jagged end scratched her cheek and smudged her makeup. Pink blood oozed from her forehead, Mikiko cried and let go of Ranma's bracer.

The hair bonds had gotten even more slack, and the redhead flapped her wings and fired her bracers at the four bands of hair that held her. Hair singed and was sliced away. Ranma rose into the air with Ichi at her shoulder. The fairy still held the gold crown like an oversized blood-spattered trophy.

Mikiko got up to her knees as pale-pink blood continued to seep down her temples. She looked down at herself with confusion. Ranma stared at the blood. Not only was its color strange, but it seemed more viscous than human standard.

Then Ranma tapped the end of her wand. The purple rose around Mikiko's choker gem exploded. Crystal cracked and rained out of the setting among a fall of singed purple petals.

The pieces fell always revealing a sparkling whirlpool atop her neck. The pink girl slowly raised a hand up to the choker and traced against the shattered edge. She then put a finger to her temple.

Ranma side stepped to approach the girl from an angle. She caught Ichi's eye and the little fairy flew down towards her. "You feeling better, Ryoga? I can help. I beat this hacker bitch. You can too."

The pink girl looked at her dress. Despite losing a bunch of sequins, being splashed with her own blood, and having some of her ruffles and lace torn, it still sparkled. Still kneeling, anger began to burble within her. She blinked, normally her rage... was channeled away. A hand went to her neck as she got up. "Better?" the pink girl gave a fangled smile.

Keeping an eye on Mikiko, Ranma examined the crown after Ichi handed it to her. A frown formed across the redhead's face. The crown was more of a mood leveler and nudger than an outright controller.

"Better?" Mikiko repeated as she picked up her parasol. "You stole my crown. You broke my choker. You tried to _ruin_ my dress!" she yelled, running forward.

"Take this!" Ranma ordered. Ichi grabbed the crown and took to the air.

"How dare you ignore me!" Mikiko screamed as she slipped to the side and jabbed Sailor Rose just under the skirt with the tip of her parasol. "Oneechan was right about you!"

Expecting a blast, Ranma jumped forward. Instead there was merely a slight sting from where the metal end piece poked her bottom. "You little sneak!" Rose leveled her wand at the pink girl. Another bud had grown at the tip. She then threw a punch with her other hand.

Hit in the shoulder, Mikiko advanced. Ranma fired her wand. The pink rosebud flashed and a ribbon shot out binding Mikiko's arms.

The pink girl's eyes glazed over with rage, and grinding her teeth, she flexed her arms. Muscles suddenly bulged beneath the gauzy silken layers, and the ribbons snapped. Mikiko continued forward. The tattered remains of her choker still hung around her neck, and where the gem used to sit was a pulsing, sparkling vortex hovering over her neck.

"No more games, Ranma! We'll settle this like we should have back in school!" Mikiko spat as her lacy pink and white gown stiffened to give her legs better mobility. She closed into melee and started using her parasol as the heavy bludgeon it was.

Matching her blows, Ranma found the little girl's speed increased, and her strength spiked up. Taking advantage of the degrading precision, the redhead kept up and managed to hit her several times with her wand and almost knock the pink girl down.

It had degraded into a mix of grabbling, scrumming, and breaking apart, but Mikki with her wounds and smaller reach was being slowly worn down. Then Ranma slipped.

A rock shifted under Ranma's heel. She recovered and dodged, but Mikiko simply countered by grabbing her, twisting Ranma's arm to make her drop the wand, and with an incoherent scream heaved with all her might.

She flung the redhead straight at the massive rock in the center of circle of Standing Stones. Dazed from the hit, Ranma tumbled though the air. After a couple beats, her wings snapped open and she tried to gain control.

It was a partial success. Instead of hitting stone, she crashed into the soft turf. Grass and loamy soil gave way as the impact dug a shallow hole. Tingling, and covered in dirt, she tried to pull herself up. For a moment if felt like she had fallen into a pool. Power pulsed around her, pressing against her and leaking, trickling in.

Mikiko ran up and with a mad giggle leveled her umbrella just as Ranma got to her feet. Layers of pink ribbons began to ensnare the redhead. She struggled until her vision was cut off. "Fine! Be that way!" she shouted, until another ribbon tied her jaw shut.

Fuming, the redhead dug down into the shallow depression, and grabbed the power being pumped by the stones. It eagerly rose up. The hole the redhead stood in rapidly filled up with budding rose bushes. Their leaves and branches covered her feet and crawling vines began to wrap around her legs. Vines rose up, their thorns cutting away the ribbons.

Mikiko stared as the vines and bushes hung for a split second. Then their buds popped open and the plants shot up, growing by feet in the blink of an eye. The vines raced up her body, slicing away ribbons and curls as they homed in on her.

The pink girl screamed as she slashed with her parasol trying to knock the vines aside. Purple hearts shot out dissolving some of the green appendages. More vines came towards her.

As she slashed, Mikiko was suddenly pulled off her feet. Falling down, she saw that more roses had popped up behind her. She quickly glanced forward and saw the redhead gritting her teeth in concentration. The last of Mikiko's ribbons had been cut away, though some of the pink material had been absorbed by the vines.

Rose grabbed power and sent it out. Deepening her connection with the magical circle she found herself sinking up to her ankles in the ground. However, her ankles, indeed all of her legs were soon completely obscured by the rapid growth of the rose bushes surrounding her.

More vines came out of these bushes to ensnare the struggling pink-girl. Resembling a leafy, blooming mummy, Mikiko continued to struggle. She wanted to smash the evil princess, she wanted to escape.

She squirmed and tried to reach to her parasol. She should have known. She knew Ranma... She knew Rose did tricks like this. Mikiko's frown grew as she wished Oneesama was here to tell her what to do.

Ranma smiled as she dove deeper into the magic at her... fingertips. Growing in a perfect circle these bushes grew up and arced inward meeting in a ring around the redhead's waist.

The bushes soon filled in with a mix of fine leaves, curving branches and rose blooms placed in a swirling fractal pattern that was almost circuit-like in its symmetry. The restraining vines thickened becoming heavy trunks that linked the gown-like growth around Rose to the coiling bonds that encased the pink princess.

_"Okay. This is a lot of power," _Rose thought to herself. _"Going to have to adapt but to what?"_ Via Ichi she knew Mikiko had stopped her struggles, confused_._ But not defeated. If it were anyone else Rose would have entertained that possibility, but Ryoga... Mikiko was not one to give up.

Hate burned in Mikiko's eyes, but there was something else. Rose suspected it was a bit of awe. _"Mind fixated on fairytale princess eh? I can use that. Though without that crown she's not exactly calm."_

Above the ring the vines merged until they formed a lacquered rosewood bustier studded with a line of red roses down the center. Her skin began to take on an ever greener hue as the shoulders of what remained of her seifuku were overtaken and grew into a pair of puffy rose bouquets. Her bracers remained unchanged. Though her fingernails had become pointer and sharper, looking something like a set of wicked rose thorns.

Rose's eyes opened. Her whites and pupils had turned green, with the latter being a darker forest shade while the former was a paler pastel green. Her irises had remained blue. She looked down at the pseudo gown and grimaced. Power pulsed up from her legs, here rosebushes, her... roots. The vines still writhed; the power needed to go somewhere. She exhaled as her hair shivered then shot up and to the back.

A pair of vines came up from behind each ear and wrapped her hair into a thick vertical column. Growing longer, her tresses arced out and to the back. They spread and linked up forming a translucent red half-dome before rooting themselves in a broad semi-circle behind her.

Roses began to bloom along the length of the twin vines as they grew up and began to split apart fanning out across the inner surface of the crimson dome. Behind Princess Rose an intricate mosaic formed behind her. It was a large red rose done using dozens of red, pink, white, and black roses.

Princess Rose rolled her shoulders and briefly looked up and behind her. There was enough play in the "hair pillar" that she could move her head at least. Her wings had expanded to their full size and were held back behind the bouquets growing over her shoulders. Bright white feathers shimmered; an ironic symbol of mobility for the thrice rooted princess. Rose turned her attention to Mikiko. Still tied up, the pink girl's jaw hung open and she stopped in her wriggling attempt to get to her parasol.

Rose smirked and concentrated. Her roots extended and a pair of rosebushes grew in front of her. The close one was larger and rapidly grew into a tall rosewood table. In the center of the table was a giant closed rosebud.

Still holding the crown, Ichi flew up behind the restrained pink girl and slipped it into place. Mikiko cried out in pain but soon smiled. "So pretty..." Mikiko mumbled. Naturally, the sweet scent of roses and pollen filled the air, but there was also a sweet, cloying smell that tickled at Mikiko's brain and drew her in.

Across the table from Rose was the other rosebush which quickly formed into a curved high backed chair. The rose in the center of the table opened as Ichi flew down. The little fairy drew out a pair of little wooden cups and a larger covered wooden pot.

"Pretty princess... garden party..." Mikiko muttered as the vines lifted her into one of the chairs. Pink eyes sparkling, she smiled as the tiny fairy put a cup in front of her and began to pour. That sweet smell intensified.

Rose grinned as she let herself sink a deeper into the earth make her somewhat more level with Mikiko. She then withdrew some of the vines. The pink girl no longer looked like a green mummy, but her arms and legs were still ted in place with thick green vines that could shoot out spiky thorns.

As she customized the restraints, Rose felt her root system expand as her tap roots... her legs became buried up to her knees.

This pushed her gown up and out. The circle of bushes expanded and pushed out as more layers and petals formed. Their root systems sank down, headed towards each other, and linked up, tightening her legs together as her root system continued adapt and change her body to best soak up the magical energy.

Her gown responded. The older layers darkened and were thicker while the newer ones had brighter and fluffier leaves. Another group of flowers bloomed, brushing against the edge of her table. She held out her hand and let Ichi give her a cup of rosehip tea. She raised her cup. And had a vine mirror the action with the one before Mikiko.

"If you act like a civilized princess I'll lessen your bonds."

Anger crossed her face, but Mikiko nodded. The vines went slack, though they still encircled her wrists, elbows, knees and ankles.

Rose took a sip, and happily wriggled a hip. "Now that's good." Pleasure shot straight down her stomach over her hips and straight down her central taproot which now ended a good three feet below the ground with feeder roots extending far below that.

Mikiko... hesitated. She blushed, then she grit her teeth. She took a sip, gently lowered the cup, and then angrily kicked the table.

"Such a shame," Rose sighed. She waved her free hand and the vines tightened again pinning the girl's arms and legs into place. Her hair thrashed and more vines grew up pinning her curls back via long looping vines. Thorns then extended just enough to get the pink girl's attention.

"You can't make me talk!" Mikiko cried as she tried to tear through the restraints, but by now the vines had started to merge into solid bands of enchanted rosewood. Her hands and wrists were still uncovered but with her upper forearms and shoulders banded there was not much she could do.

"That's hardly a requirement," Rose picked up a cup using the ends of her long thorn-tipped fingers like chopsticks and gave a contemplative sip. She smiled. Some of the pollen from the rose bush Mikiko had so rudely stomped had finally reached her own roses.

Glancing over, she confirmed that the little bush had begun to spring back. She briefly debated extending her roots out to it, but thought that going past the Standing Stones might not be the best idea. She then looked further up the slope towards the ridge, then down slope and finally at the magical pump itself.

"I suppose, there are worse places to take root, but I'd rather go back home," Rose said to herself as she tried to call to her family. "I don't suppose you'd be a dear, Mikiko, and lower your jamming signal?"

The pink girl simply glared. The gold bracelet on her right wrist banged against the arm rest.

"Bother." Rose looked to Ichi, but she was loath to leave herself without any... mobile assets. She rolled her hips, and deep within her gown a set of large rosebuds began to develop. Her tap-root shivered and thickened before diving deeper another six inches. Even in her present state, a new batch of fairies would take some time to grow.

"Looks like we're both stuck!" Mikiko laughed.

"It would seem," Rose put her cup down. For a moment she lowered her head, or as much as she could given her hair. If the pink girl believed that, it was best to let her keep believing that. "You're only stuck because of me. As soon as you become cooperative I'll let you go."

"I'll never help you," Mikiko defiantly said. "I'll defeat you and save Prince Akane from your unfaithful clutches."

Rose gave a patient smile as Ichi refilled her tea cup. "You hardly have a choice, my Dear," she purred as she took up her cup.

Mikiko futilely struggled against her bonds. Then the three large gems on her

bracelet flashed. They went from diamond clear to being pulsing shades of blue, green, and red.

A human sized hologram formed at the table on Mikiko's right and Rose's left. Hands in black leather gloves gave a slow clap. The figure was female and sat in a silver chair. She wore a black suit with grey pinstripes and a grey ribbon tie. Her face was concealed within the shadows of a hood. The whole projection was wreathed in shadows that contrasted with the sunny exterior of the rest of the table.

"Oneechan!" Mikiko cheered.

"I told you I would always be there for you," the lady in shadows said, almost comfortingly.

Princess Rose's wings fluttered in impotent surprise. "You! You monster," she hissed after regaining her composure. It was just a hologram, there were no force-fields or other bits of magic to make it "solid".

The lady in shadows raised a finger in objection. "I'm not the immense rose dryad who's tied up a little girl and threatened to force her to do her bidding." She looked Rose up and down. "Lovely work by the way. I think this is your most beautiful form."

Rose found her cheeks blushing a deep green.

"I mean that, so powerful, so integrated. So... immobile," the lady in shadows leaned forward. "How does it feel? How deep will your roots go?"

Finally pushing down the blush, Rose clenched her teeth and calmed herself. "I'm like this because of you!" she exclaimed, pointing a long thorn-talon at the hologram.

The lady in shadows leaned back, seemingly satisfied. "If you don't like being stuck in one place, I could make you more than mobile enough."

Rose checked on the status of her next batch of fairies and tried to track the signal Mikiko's bracelet was emitting. "Like you helped Ryoga?" she asked. Rose debated on whether or not she should try using the name Ned offered. Right now it seemed like a good secret to keep in reserve.

The Lady turned to Mikiko and gave an approving nod. "Exactly like that. Right, Mikiko?"

"Yes, Oneechan. You're the best," the pink girl happily said. She shook her head and her hair bounced about, as it pressed against the vines.

Rose stared. "Well, you're bad at negotiating. You're supposed to offer things people want, you loon."

"And why did you think breaking this was a good idea?" the Lady shook her head as Mikiko's neck shimmered as her choker knitted itself back together. "Fortunately I'm good enough to conduct remote repair," the Lady said as she checked out the status of the choker and the other systems she had upgraded.

"Egotistical much?"

"This from the girl who transformed her hair into a giant mural of her own symbol?" the Lady asked. She looked to the side and seemed to smile under the hood

Rose poked at her cup.

"Oh, don't be put off, you're lovely. And you should be proud of who you are."

The dryad found herself dealing with another flush. She had escaped the Hacker's control; she should not be feeling this way.

"And I think your hair looks beautiful, in fact-" The Lady snapped her fingers. Mikiko's hair exploded outward. The sudden spurt of growth was too much for the vines to handle and the tresses whipped out. At the end of each tentacle-like curl of hair was a long golden bulb tipped with an obsidian syringe.

Rose's response was immediate. A swipe from each of the thorn-talons tipping her hands took out three. Ichi cut part another two more that shot towards the table. And finally a blast from her bracer gave her enough time to summon her wand. A shield sprung up around her face, torso and the front half of the table. Hair tendrils beat against it.

Rose's momentary relief was cut short when she heard the Lady give another gentle clap. She saw more of Mikiko's hair tendrils snake straight down. Several plunged into the chair itself while another half dozen went into the table.

The needles pierced the polished wood and the dryad's eyes widened as the magical cocktail was pumped in. The table flexed and began to thicken slightly. The chair also started to swell. The growth effect loosening Mikiko's bonds.

Feeling the cocktail begin to seep into her root system, Rose almost missed the three tendrils that were creeping along the ground underneath the table. She sent Ichi to intercept, but they, spring-like, launched forward, past the table, through her gown and stabbed right into her tap root.

Rose gasped as they pumped right into her. For a split second her body felt like it was on fire, especially where Mikiko had poked her with her umbrella. This was not quite the brute force attack that Ned had worried about but it was close.

Instead of targeting Rose's template, the Lady simply went to the flesh itself, bypassing Rose's mind and control systems.

The fire vanished and the growth started. Thickening into a tapered flute that went from her hips down to six feet underground, her tap root grew and spread out even more roots

The power from the pump surged through her and she closed her eyes as she managed the power and adapted to it and the doping from the syringes. Rosebuds bloomed around the top of her head and formed a crown of golden roses encircling the central pillar.

The pillar itself hummed as it pumped more power into the crimson dome. The structure rippled and began to grow. It went from being a half-dome to a scalloped structure that fully encircled the table, the chairs, and the guests. The new section was only a roof however, unlike the part behind Rose there was no mosaic. Large trunk-like vines grew from the earth forming support pillars with rails that crossed between them.

As the gazebo took shape, more rose bushes popped up forming a bordering garden and climbing, blooming, vines for the railings and beams of the rosewood structure. The physical expansion was matched by mental, with so much more sensory input she felt overwhelmed. Like she could float away. Part of her was glad for being so deeply rooted, glad that the Lady had helped...

She shook her head. She had to ride the growth and try to tame the traitorous flesh. Being glad was wrong, but the changes... they were nice. Her gown expanded to fill almost all of the space to her sides and up to the mural; the bouquets on her shoulders grew and puffed out. Matching bouquets grew on the eaves of the gazebo's pillars. She liked the symmetry. It also added to the depth of her garden, giving flowers at multiple heights and angles.

The Rose Princess opened her eyes. They were solid green save for the petal-like red irises. Feeling the power flush through her, she looked at the Lady in Shadows and gave a giddy laugh. This was the threat that had haunted her nightmares and twisted her mind? She could not believe she was scared of someone so - her mind skipped for an instant - so nice and prettily dressed and stuff.

Warnings flashed on her mind and she executed countermeasures to defeat the invading influence.

Confused, she looked around daintily licked an emerald lip with a green tongue. Then she bowed to her two guests, or bowed as well as she could having grown several feet into the ground and being connected to her floral gazebo. She might as well be polite, they were at her mercy after all. She paused. Yes, she had them surrounded but... Her insides flushed with warmth again. But that was no reason her to be rude.

Free of her restraints, Mikiko rubbed her wrists as she called her hair back leaving the syringes in place. The Lady sat back, her body still.

The giant rosebuds within the gown opened and a wing of fairies burst up. Three of them set about removing the syringes while the other three followed Ichi's lead and began cleaning up the table. The giant rosebud in the center of the table had opened again and the fairies took wooden plates and cups and began to make settings for three.

Mikiko eyed the plate of rose-shaped biscuits in front of her and looked at the sweet smelling tea. "Oneechan?" she asked, wondrously looking about the bright gazebo they found themselves in.

"Well? Is it safe?" the Lady asked, eyeing the enhanced dryad.

Still flush with the warming cocktail, Rose smiled beatifically and bowed again. "Of course Mistress Langley."

The Lady hung halted for a moment. "Allison's old flame? No, my dear dryad you have me confused." The Lady stood and pulled back her hood, revealing a delicate porcelain-fine face that looked the twin of Mikiko's, including the little beauty mark on her cheek. Her hair was jet-black and cut in a short bob.

The Lady stood and Rose realized that Mikiko's bracelet was now projecting force-fields. She put a hand on a pillar and ran it up to the roof of the gazebo. "You're not the only one to flee from Japan," the Lady assured. "I'm closer to my sister than you think."

She then walked out of the gazebo and out of Rose's sight. She sent Ichi to investigate but the Lady had returned. Rose gasped and stilled as she felt fingers brush along the outside of her elaborate dome of hair. She frowned and gave Ichi some new orders and a few new helpers.

The Lady came closer, teasing along the intricate design, along vines, and over some of the many flower buds and delicate petals. Rose blushed slightly as she felt each bud bloom larger after the teasing touch. Following the fingers in her mind, she gasped softly while they traced up and over the arched dome.

The Lady paused briefly to trace along one of the larger hanging blooms, sending wonderful warm pulses of feeling along the vines. Rose looked up at the Lady; she had no idea being touched in this form would be like so electric.

The teasing fingers traced along the arch, and followed the vines to join her hair and the golden blooms along her head. The Lady took a moment to tease and give extra attention to each one, making the large dryad gasp and wiggle softly as she strained to look to her side.

Hands griped the side of her head softly to stop her from looking. Rose caught Ichi's eye and looked to the rest of her fairies, but decided to wait and see. And once her admittedly weak attempt stopped, the Lady's hands happily continued to trace along her flowers and rosewood bodice. Rose smiled, the hologram was impressive. It felt almost like a...

The rosy tint to her green checks and slender neck grew more prominent, earning a musical giggle from the Lady. Skilled and playful fingers traced the hefty cup of her bodice and along the petals and stems, somehow triggering a happy bloom as they passed, working lower and ever so slowly trailing along the curve of her sides down to the flare of her hips. Her hands snaked through the leaves and vines that made up her gown and found what lay beneath.

The heady feeling flooding the dryad was capped off as the hand drew back, and there was a sharp slap on her rear. Making a light echo around the flowerbed and earning a gasp and stifled moan from Rose.

The Lady stepped back into view, her dark eyes shining with amusement and pride. A lustful smile on her perfect pale face. She leaned in. Rose could smell the Lady.

"I did say you where very beautiful, Rosa, my dear dryad. And I meant it, but it's so hard to get past all the mistrust. So I came down to prove it." The Lady whispered before swaying along the table in her own backless dark princess gown. It was black and sleek but had enough ruffles and décolletage to enhance the way it hung around her curves.

"You... you were here?"

"Do you really think I'd send my little sister out to fight alone?" The Lady asked as she took the cup from her little sister and gave it a sip.

"I could have handled it," Mikiko pouted.

"And the hologram?"

"I wanted to make sure you would be... cooperative."

Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Oh this really is a wonderful tea. Please forgive my little sister. She's still into overly sweet things and this is much too refined." She paused for a moment, watching the blushing Rose try to center herself. "Well? May I join you at the table?"

The flushed dryad did not trust her voice at the moment so she nodded and let a new chair grow in.

"Thank you." The Lady sat down. "You truly are wonderful."

Rose looked around. "But I'm..."

"You're what you want to be, and right now you want to be a powerful dryad," the Lady sipped her tea. "We don't have to be enemies."

"But, Oneechan I want to fight her!" Mikiko whined.

"You used me like an experiment!" Rose raised her arms up before letting her hands rest atop the table.

The Lady looked her down. "And? Look at my sister. Everyone is an experiment. Life is an experiment. You should know that," she gestured to one of the flying fairies. "Unlike your friends I don't judge you for it," she put a hand atop Rose's and played with the little ring of roses that had bloomed around her wrist.

Rose found herself blushing. The dome flexed as her hair pillar extended, and Rose leaned in towards the dark princess.

Enjoying the view, the Lady leaned in herself.

"You're trying to tempt me."

"Of course," the Lady reached up and brushed one of the golden crown roses before putting a finger to Rose's lip. "How long did you rage for this moment? How much did we destroy fighting each other. Well, here I am." The Lady licked her lips.

"Yes, you are," Rose breathed.

"Still a martial artist," Rebecca laughed. "Fights you can handle, mecha you can smash, but this?" She stood up and kissed the dryad. Her hands went up and one played with a shoulder bouquet while the other encircled her hair-pillar and squeezed.

For a moment Rose went limp before she returned the kiss, complete with gently raking the tips of her thorn-talons over the Lady's exposed back.

Rebecca broke off the kiss. "Now that's using your imagination. Yes, fights you can handle, but honest feelings, oh that's your Achilles heel." She looked down at the vibrant gown and smirked. "Though you don't have those anymore do you?"

"That's correct," Rose picked up her wand and gave a little sigh.

Rebecca took the wand and pointed it towards her chest, right in the edging of her gown. "You don't want to fight me. In fact, you've got me and my sister surrounded," the Lady smirked as she patted the railing of the gazebo.

Mikiko idly nibbled on a biscuit and kicked her feet.

"Trust your feelings," the Lady assured. "We shouldn't be enemies. We can make peace... and more."

Cocking her head to the side, Mikiko put down the biscuit and smiled.

"My feelings are saying that," Rose swallowed. She blinked. "But they've been wrong before."

The Lady - Rebecca - drew back. Her stomach grew cold. Alerts were starting to ping into her ear. She wished she had her heads up display or even a PDA. "Well, yes, but this time..."

"This time I might trust you?" Rose asked as she picked up her tea cup and took a sip. One of the fairies flew into the gazebo and nodded to the dryad.

Rebecca's eyes darted around. She had counted seven fairies in total. There were only four here. Mikiko got to her feet and looked out over the railing.

Rose smiled. "Maybe I can trust you? My gut says yes, but it was pumped full of your happy juice. And some insurance never hurt."

Hearing the roar of engines, the Lady shot to her feet. "Mikiko, egress alpha! Now!" The Lady tore off her dress revealing a reinforced black bodysuit that quickly moved to conceal everything but her face and hair.

Mikiko grabbed her parasol and another biscuit before running thought he gazebo's front entrance. Pausing with one leg over the guardrail the Lady gave Rose one last glance.

"Your family's still far enough out." The Lady smiled. "Thank you for the early warning."

The dryad, put down her teacup, and smiled as the Lady jumped away. Once she was out of sight the beatific smile vanished. She blinked, and shook her head. "Stupid plants!" she cried as she raised her wand.

There was a bright flash and the rosewood bodice split down the middle. Like a gantry tower pulling away from a rocket the gown retracted. The hair pillar popped off the top of the dome and the vines that wound around it fell off.

And in a rain of golden roses and withering vines, brilliant red tresses fell down Rose's back. Shedding the bouquets on her shoulders, her taproot split apart. Legs emerging, she stepped forward. The green drained from her skin as her Seifuku morphed back into place, and soon it was Sailor Rose standing in the center of the gazebo.

She looked over the table and sighed. The arching husk of the gown leaned to one side, dominating the interior. Before spreading her wings she looked at the chair she had made for the Lady... the Hacker bitch.

The jamming field was still up, and she had given the enemy enough of a head start.

She glanced at the gazebo and gave a little sigh. She was loath to leave so much of her tech lying about. The way it hung to one side was also rather untidy and even ugly. Her wand appeared again and there was a flash of green and the remnants of the gown began to fold into itself. The taproot also pulled back as the gown reverted to something closer to a ring of rosebushes.

One of the engine noises got significantly louder, and soon there was a heavy thump as a sleek orange and grey armored figure landed. Sarah's flight jets flared giving a final retro burst to halt her downward velocity.

Streamlined, but heavy metal boots stomped onto the spongy turf. Sarah stopped just outside of the standing stones. She was wearing armor made out of interlocking and flexing plates that followed the contour of her body but was nowhere near thin enough to count as skin tight.

However, Sarah's armor was thicker around her forearms, calves, and shoulders. The areas where extra weapons and maneuver drive systems had been installed. A large rifle was slung across her back and locked into a skeletal scabbard. She wore a helmet and blue wind visor though her hair flew behind her in a tightly tied ponytail.

Heat still radiating from her jets, she looked into the gazebo which held her gaze. Inside were a table and two chairs. However neither chair was between the giant rose mosaic and the table. Instead there was a heap of vines and flowers that looked like deflated bits of skirting. Above that was a bunch of vines and the clear red material made up the structure's roof; translucent and ruby-like, it looked like fused hair.

She looked over at her sister. The skirt and ribbons looked the same but... Ranma's hair, though the long fall was still pulled back by the same big bow, was more elaborate than before. Around the bow her hair was twisted back in a little curled updo that was held up by a pair of long white rosebud tipped lacquered pins. She also stood a bit awkwardly, as if embarrassed, or uncomfortable by the whole uniform.

Sarah's frown deepened, and she tried to reassure herself that her template offered some protection.

Her visor flipped up. Her eyes went from the destroyed mecha to the seifuku clad girl, to the rose gazebo, and finally back to her sister. "Ranma... this is Town Father stuff... "

Ranma nodded.

The power-armored figure stepped back and swept the sky and the forest before going back to her sibling. She could hear Dan's truck, though it sounded closer than she thought it should be. There was more wreckage from the battle. Holes in the ground where acid had eaten through metal, sod, and earth. And footprints of a mech of... reasonable size. "A little fairy told me you got jumped by the Hacker Bitch and were having tea and biscuits with her... what the hell?" Sarah asked as she flexed her gauntleted hands.

"I got cocky." Sailor Rose exhaled.

"You, cocky? No way, how could that be?" Sarah sarcastically said. She raised her leg but thought better of it.

"Yeah." There was a thump in the gazebo as the last of the gown collapsed into a ring of almost normal-looking rose plants.

Sarah hesitated.

"You can enter," Ranma said as she stepped forward. "The circle won't hurt you."

"Oh? So it won't pull me into some type of growth? Was that your doing? Remember when I saw you growing roots the last time you were alone in a garden?" Sarah asked.

Ranma blushed. "I got cocky; I thought I could handle it." She looked over the gazebo and raised her hand with a little sigh. It was still too much. The roof began to retract as the pillars and crossbeams started to thin out. She'd leave the table and the garden, but most everything else would have to be pulled back.

Sarah eyed the retreating plants and frowned. "So what part was the cocky bit? Flying by the Hacker Bitch's lair, or putting down roots next to a geomancy Pump and turning yourself into a pretty party princess?"

Ranma almost asked how Sarah could know she had done the flyby but she realized it was a fairly obvious deduction. "The first caused the latter I suppose." She sighed.

"We shouldn't have let you go to Ned alone," Sarah said. To her surprise Ranma nodded in agreement.  
"Really?"

"Mikiko, the Hacker's new minion, she was watching the whole time."

"Oh good. Another enemy." Sarah flipped her visor back down. "And what's going on with my navigation system? How the hell does a GPS and an inertial guidance system get lost?"

"That's the new minion. The hacker got a hold of one of my Nerima 'friends' and got creative."

Sarah blinked and recalled the one rival of her sisters that had directional problems. She then recalled the name and pronoun Ranma had used. "Twisted?"

"If you see a pink girl who looks like she's dressed up as a frilly wedding cake avoid her hair at all costs," Ranma said as her eyes went to the gazebo. "It'll be hard; it's really long and pretty strong."

"Uh, right." Sarah followed her gaze. She looked at the building. Right next to the central pumping stone, the whole rose garden and gazebo was within the standing stones. Shifting her suit's scanners, Sarah confirmed what she already suspected. "She did that? She... plugged you in?"

Nodding, Ranma stepped out of the ring of stones. "It's more complicated than that, but yes."

"Right." Sarah adjusted her sensors. Looking down the valley, she kept her back to the Standing Stones. Her grip tightened on her rifle. "You saw her; you saw the hacker."

Ranma nodded.

Looking into the distance, Sarah shuffled her feet, but her curiosity ate at her. "What's she look like?"

"Doesn't matter," Ranma shrugged.

"What?"

"What you'd expect: dresses in black, black hair pale skin, pretty face, too pretty. Like Mikiko."

"But Mikiko's..."

"A doll? A fake?"

"From Japan."

"That too." Ranma shook her head. "It was a disguise. And no surprise. We're all disguised by magic. We look like just what we want to look like at any given moment, that doesn't really tell us much more than that."

"Right, but why wait? I mean, we're sitting here as she runs off with her shiny new minion?"

The engine noises grew louder this time from above. Sarah whipped her head around. Instead of seeing Dan's custom truck bounding over the ridgeline, she saw a little blurry spot in the sky. It shed quicksilver revealing a fairy rocketing towards them.

As the green figure neared, the sounds cut out. Or at least the nearest one. Blinking, Sarah could still hear the Beast. However, now Dan's truck sounded much further away. The armored redhead raised an eyebrow at her sister.

"Poor Hacker Bitch, she thought you guys were just around the corner," Ranma innocently said before reconnecting with the new arrival. She then spread her wings and took to the air.

"So are you gonna make that rose garden invisible?" Activating her jets, Sarah followed. Her navigation system was still being scrambled, but Ranma seemed to have an idea on where to go. She could pick up a couple more fairies in the distance.

Ranma looked back. "I'd better not. It's blatant enough. Trying to hide it'll make it worse."

"Good idea." Sarah nodded to herself, slightly relieved. "Good scam with the fairy noisemaker too."

"Thanks! I had to get rid of Rebecca and Mikiko so I could safely extract," Ranma transmitted on Sarah's communications channel.

"Good plan. Wait..." Sarah's smile quickly turned into a frown. "Wait.. it's Rebecca? Allison's old girlfriend!"

Ranma transmitted a chuckle. "That's what Ned said."

"Yeah and you shouldn't have run off and met him alone either. You said you were planting roses."

"I was." Ranma's voice sounded a bit ashamed to Sarah. "Of course this is unconfirmed, but currently the most-reliable source suggests it. Ned did give me some files. I've sent them back home. I'll analyze later."

Sarah's navigation system successfully rebooted. There was a minor fight as the location her internal gyros gave conflicted with the one her resynchronized GPS locator gave. She looked down and caught a bend in the valley river below her. A thin two-lane asphalt road crossed it.

She angled over and used the bridge to calibrate her nav system. The GPS was correct. Sarah allowed a little smile. Then her navigation system crashed. Swearing, she spotted a black truck racing down the road and a loud voice cut into her headset.

"Sarah! Sarah! I lost you for a second but... What the hell's going on? You find her yet? This fairy won't shut up. Yes, you, I'm talking about you!" Allison shouted over the radio.

"Uh yeah, I can see you too," Sarah said as she cut her jets. "Tell Dan to slow down."

"You find that petal-brained prissy princess or not?" Allison demanded. "No! Slow down Dan. I don't care what the fairy says."

Ranma cleared her throat. "Sailor Nightshade?"

Allison swore.

"I'm on the channel too."

"So... how you doing, Princess?" Allison laughed nervously. "Dan, stop right now! I don't care if there's nowhere to pull over."

With Ranma flying by her side, Sarah descended towards the road.

A large heavy duty SUV had stopped in the middle of the road. Even at idle its turboshaft engine growled. Glossy, almost animated black paint, smoked windows, and blinding chrome accents made it hard to look at. Their eyes kept sliding off the Beast.

"I'm doing well enough, Nightshade," Ranma pleasantly said. "I ran into an old _friend_ of yours. I had some lovely tea with her and her sister."

Allison blinked. She looked out the windshield and saw the two redheads land, with a group of airborne fairies falling in just behind them.

"What's going on?" Erika asked, leaning forward from the back seat. She was wearing her seifuku. She looked at Ranma and blinked. "Oh dear..."

Dan's knuckles turned white as he clenched the steering wheel in one hand and the shifter in the other. Glancing at the stubby rifle he had stowed in a scabbard between the driver's seat and the center console, he idly revved the engine. His gaze went to his girlfriend and then to their blue-haired AI girl. "Okay... you're both tweaked to hell. What do you see?"

"Someone got to Ranma... I..."

The hologram of Gos leaned back in the seat to Erika's left. "It's pretty intense. Her power's spiked up. Something happened to her. You think the hacker got to her?"

Erika shook her head, but it was hesitant.

"Please," Allison snorted and opened the door.

Dan caught her eye and then glanced down at her hips.

Allison looked down at her gun-belts and nodded before jumping out of the truck.

Her boots clicked against the asphalt as she strode up to the sisters. As she got closer, she looked Ranma over top to bottom and made a thoughtful noise when her eyes reached the redhead's hair. Sailor Rose looked away. Allison noted the embarrassment, but also saw her uncomfortably shuffle her feet and then tug at a glove.

"Okay Princess, what happened?" she asked reaching out and running a finger over a rosebud hairpin tip. "How'd the Hacker Bitch get to you this time?"

Sarah blinked. "How did?"

Ranma stared for a second. Then the noted that Allison was now inspecting the sweeps and curls to her little bun.. "My hair? You figured that out by my hair?"

"That and the embroidery around your choker and the new rose and lace patterns added to your boots. You got into some sort of big emergency. That's the Hacker Bitch. Who else could it be? And after you escape you're still all prettied up? She did something to you."

Ranma swallowed.

"It is lovely hair," Allison assured as her gaze went down. She tapped her chin and then stuck out her hands as if she were measuring how wide something was. "Huh, she got to your skirt too. It's poofier."

Blushing, Ranma nodded.

"You should have seen the hair the Hacker Bitch stuck her with, and the dress too," Sarah added. She then narrowed her eyes. "How did she get you?" she asked as one of the truck doors opened.

"The Bitch's little minion threw me into the Standing Stone ring. I tapped into the power there to try and capture her. It worked, but then the Hacker Bitch showed up, and Mikiko, the minion, broke free and I was injected with a growth serum. Then the Bitch tried to seduce me."

"Really? That works?" Allison asked as she eyed the bows to Ranma's seifuku.

"Not really, I got free," Ranma said, keeping a good poker face. "But she played with my flowers and kissed me."

"No not that. Though flower is a great euphemism," Allison waved a hand in dismissal.

Ranma blushed. "It wasn't. Not really."

"Well, well," The blonde smirked. "Still, I could have guessed she'd try to jump your bones. What I'm amazed about is the whole growth serum thing. That still works?"

"Minion?" Erika asked as the flickering image of Gos followed her.

Ranma nodded. "She got to Ryoga." She held up a palm and a holographic image of Mikiko appeared.

The three girls stared. After a couple of seconds Gos began to laugh.

"Oh wow... Pink! She turned him pink!"

"It's not a joke, Mikiko's a mean little monster."

"Got a ranged power too. She was screwing up my comms and navigation long after she ran off," Sarah added as she tried to keep a straight face.

"As for the growth, this is what I ended up as," Ranma exhaled and held out her other palm and an image of the rose dryad appeared.

Rapt, the others actually stepped around and tried to view the creation from several angles: the gazebo, the rose mural, the gown, the table, the bouquets, the hair.

Erika caught Sarah's eye. "You saw this?"

Sarah looked away from the dryad's serene green face. "I saw the building and the plants but... she wasn't plugged in."

Allison leaned in and nodded at the dryad in the gazebo. She looked up at Ranma. "You can turn yourself into this, but you can't make yourself male?"

Ranma looked down. "Not exactly."

The blonde peered back at the hologram. "But, I mean you turned your hair into a gazebo!" She stepped closer. "So... you could look male."

The princess took a half step back. "Of course I could! I'd be great at drag! Maybe I wouldn't be as believable of a guy, but I'm pretty believable at pretending to be female."

Erika gave a sympathetic nod.

Sarah took Ranma's forearm. "This isn't... you."

"But it is. I plugged in. I grew this." Princess Rose gave a confident, if brittle laugh. Her eyes went to the image of Mikiko. "You know I'm not human. Come'on sis, you've gotta admit the only reason I look the way I do anymore is because I like it. Because I'm..." She hesitated as the words left her. Normally, speaking was like reading from a script she had written while waiting for the other person to stop talking, but for this moment she was at a loss.

Allison had slipped up to Ranma's side and had hugged the redhead. "It's okay. Don't feel ashamed for what you became... what you are."

"Allison? What are you talking about? That bitch... she turned Ranma into that... that thing!" Sarah exclaimed.

"No, she didn't. At least not directly." Allison hugged tighter. "Look at that image. She's wearing a crown of gold roses. She's got her symbol behind her. That's a queen at court. If this was the hacker's doing she'd look like a floral version of that," the blonde said pointing to Mikiko.

"There was so much power. It felt freeing, even as I took root." Ranma looked down. "I know you're scared. Scared of what I could be. What I'm turning into." She gave a weak smile and banished the image of Mikiko and enlarged the image of the dryad. "Well, here's an example."

"It's okay, we love you. And we will win this. We'll be able to fight back," Sarah promised as she hugged Ranma on the left side.

Sarah stepped forward and took Ranma's hand and drew it to her chest.

Ranma smiled.

"Fight back? You get something?" Allison asked looking to

The redhead nodded. "I did. I know who the Hacker Bitch is."

Erika's eyes widened while Sarah gave Allison a guarded look.

"Oh. You think it's her," Allison exhaled.

Ranma returned the blonde's hug. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be." Allison's playful smile faltered. "I knew Rebecca was bad news but..." She looked back to the truck where Dan sat waiting. "But I hoped... I hoped she wasn't quite this..." She looked at the image of the dryad and laughed. "Stupid."

"Really?"

Allison smirked. "Yeah, Princess, we're gonna wipe the smug right off her face."

End chapter 11

Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Pale Wolf and Kevin Hammel. They were great on working on this chapter.

Also special thanks should go out to J St C Patrick for going through this chapter. He really helped clear it up. Any lingering mistakes are my fault.


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